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Newly Rediscovered Musical Genius - JD Zelenka (1679-1745)

4K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  purple99 
#1 ·
Among the most amazing musical rediscoveries of recent years has been the wonderful music of Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745). Zelenka was a contemporary of JS Bach and served for many years as Kapellmeister in Dresden, Germany. In fact, Bach is known to have greatly admired Zelenka. It's easy to see why.

If you've not heard any of Zelenka's music (most of which has only been recorded for the first time in recent years) I highly recomnend you do so. He was a master of counterpoint and some of his works are surely equal to those of Bach himself.

There are now several specialist online sites devoted to Zelenka including -

http://www.jdzelenka.net
 
#2 ·
I think it is great to "discover" some great talents who were unjustly forgotten. Guys lile Zelenka, Graupner and Heinichen composed real good music.
 
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#4 ·
I first became familiar with Zelenka's music in the mid 1980's through a wonderful Claves CD of his Requiem in C minor conducted by Jorg Ewald Dahler. I now have about 10 Zelenka recordings and consider him an outstanding Baroque composer. Many folks see the Baroque era as being led by the trio of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi; for me, Zelenka easily eclipses the Red Priest.
 
#6 ·
Don, thanks very much. Yes, I was really amazed by Zelenka's music. The opening bars of the very first piece I heard (which was a Miserere) surprised me ! Same as you, I've got around 10 works of his now.

I will make a point of trying to hear the Graupner recording that you recommend. Thanks for this.
 
#7 ·
Having just heard my first recordings of Zelenka's orchestral music, I can't yet say whether I'll come to enjoy it even more than that of Telemann, but first impressions are most favourable. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it. It's a shame that this was only a small part of his enormous output, but what there is is a treat.
 
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#8 ·
Zelenka's extraordinary. Much was thought destroyed by British Bomber Command in the Dresden firestorm of 1945 but manuscripts keep surfacing in Russian libraries. He's libeled on the internet, accused of 'bitterness' but the truth is (a) there's no evidence for that and (b) so little is known about him it's impossible to say even what he looked like -- there's no known portrait -- let alone his emotional state. CPE Bach reports his father thought highly of him -- JS and Zelenka almost certainly knew each other, but Zelenka was a Catholic - a persecuted minority at the time -- so JS probably had to be careful. The Czechs are very proud of him and there's something of a Zelenka renaissance in Prague and (as mentioned above) there's the wonderful Zelenka site and forum -- packed with international scholars, enthusiasts and top players. A demo recording and score of one of his Z181 trios is here.
 
#20 ·
OK guys, we've done Mr. Newman's peccadillos. Now let's get back to his point here: Zelenka's music deserves a listen. Buy CPO 999 897-2, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Complete Orchestral Works, and luxuriate in the glory of Baroque.
 
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