Jan Dismas Zelenka - The Rediscovery of Zelenka's Music

The Rediscovery of Zelenka's Music

The rediscovery of Jan Dismas Zelenka's work is accredited to Bedřich Smetana, who rewrote some scores from the archives in Dresden and introduced one of the composer's orchestral suites in Prague's New Town Theatre festivals in 1863.

It was mistakenly assumed that many of Zelenka's autograph scores were destroyed during the fire-bombing of Dresden in February 1945. However, the scores were not kept in the Katholische Hofkirche but in the basement of the Japanese Palace, north of the river Elbe. Some are certainly missing, but this probably happened gradually - and the lost scores represent only a small proportion of his extant works.

The interest in Zelenka's music has begun to grow, especially since the end of the 1950s. By the late 1960s and early 1970s all Zelenka's instrumental compositions and selected liturgical music were published in Czechoslovakia. The most important revival was demonstrated by the first presentation of selected compositions by Czech conductor Milan Munclinger and his ensemble Ars Rediviva. They were three trio sonatas in 1958 - 1960, Sinfonia concertante in 1963 and the exquisite interpretation of "Lamentationes Jeremiae prophetae" with soloists Karl Berman, Nedda Casei and Theo Altmeyer in 1969. The music of Zelenka has become widely known and available since that time, through recordings and sparked the interest of musicians such as, Milan Munclinger (above), Heinz Holliger and Reinhard Goebel.

More than half of Zelenka's works have now been recorded, mostly in the Czech Republic and Germany. Many of his opera are now being premiered for the first time in history by Czech choirs and orchestras and subsequently recorded from the 1990s. Those first recordings include, e.g. Missa Purificationis, Missa Sanctissimae trinitatis, Missa votiva, Missa Sancti Josephi, Il Serpente di Bronzo, and his secular works "Sub olea pacis" and "Il Diamante", performed by new Czech ensembles, using original instruments and interpretational techniques of the Baroque era, above all Musica Florea, Collegium 1704, Ensemble Inégal, Capella Regia Musicalis, and others. Obviously, Zelenka's opuses have not yet been completely explored, and there is room for new surprising recordings.

In honor of Jan Dismas Zelenka, "The Autumn Music Festival under Blaník" ("Podblanický hudební podzim" in Czech) was founded in 1984. Since then, performances of Zelenka's music have regularly taken place in and around his birthplace.