Czech Ensemble Baroque, Válek Roman: Vesperae

František Ignác Antonín Tůma (1704-1774) - Vesperae de confessore (1753), Stabat Mater, Litaniae Reginae martyrum (1758), Ouverture in C, Sinfonia in d, Partita in g Romana Kružíková, Zuzana Badárová - soprano, Lucie Karafiátová - alt, Matúš Šimko - tenor, Jiří Miroslav Procházka - bass. Czech Ensemble Baroque, conductor Roman Válek Tůma was in Vienna around the middle of the 18th century highly appreciated composer especially for his church works - in the strict polyphonic style antico and in the modern figural style.

About the album Tůma - Vesperae

The next part of the series devoted to Tům's music brings recordings of specific liturgical types from the later stage of the composer's life. Vespers and litanies (Vesperae de confessore, Litaniae Reginae martyrum), intended for major feasts, are given a solemn tone by the prescribed clarinets or trumpets and timpani. The medieval Stabat mater sequence is represented here by one of Tům's eight surviving compositions on this text. Tůma, however, also devoted himself intensively to instrumental music, in which he made greater use of elements of the modern galant style and masterfully combined the techniques of the Italian and French styles. The majestic and grandiose Ouverture in C contrasts with the more modest Sinfonia in D in the style of the Neapolitan Sinfonia and the Partita in G, preserved together with the Stabat Mater in a joint collection in Vienna. In his later works Tůma presents himself as a master composer with a rare ability to combine old and new styles into remarkable works in the spiritual and instrumental spheres. The Czech Ensemble Baroque presents all the works except Stabat Mater in their modern premiere.