Brixi / Blazikova / Hipocondria Ensemble Music From 18Th Century Prague CD

In the first third of the 18th-century, Prague was a major music centre, with Italian operas and concertos, French suites, Italian and German oratorios being performed in the city, and the local churches striving to acquire the latest and most virtuosic compositions. ?imon Brixi was one of the most distinguished composers who drew inspiration from this thriving culture, while creating highly inventive music of his own. He mainly wrote liturgical pieces, yet few of them have survived. Brixi gained great acclaim for his musicae navales for the popular Saint John of Nepomuk Festivities in May on the river Vltava. Although he did not publish his scores, Brixi was a renowned composer and his music was frequently performed. Copies of his works were possessed by, among others, Jan Dismas Zelenka. Brixi mastered all the styles and techniques of his time, ranging from rigorous counterpoint to elements of the nascent Galant style. The works are arranged on the album in a one-day liturgical arch, with the morning mass followed by litanies and the canticle Magnificat from vespers, which owing to it's style and high technical requirements may bring to mind Zelenka's music. Made up of superlative soloists, Hipocondria Ensemble bring back to life ?imon Brixi's overlooked works. Their recording of the Magnificat is the first made on historical instruments. / ?imon Brixi - a composer whose music deserves a second life after three centuries.

1. * Missa in D Major 2. Kyrie 3. Gloria 4. Laudamus Te 5. Gratias Agimus Tibi 6. Domine Deus 7. Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi 8. Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus 9. Cum Sancto Spiritu 10. Credo in Unum Deum 11. Crucifixus 12. Et Resurrexit 13. Et in Spiritum 14. Sanctus 15. Osanna in Excelsis 16. Benedictus 17. Osanna in Excelsis 18. Agnus Dei 19. Arietta de Gloriosissima Resurrectione Domini Nostri Jesu Christi 20. * Litaniae de Venerabili Sacramento 21. Kyrie 22. Hostia Immaculata 23. Fons Vivus 24. Praecelsum Venerabile 25. Sacrata Pax 26. Oblatum Holocaustum 27. Cruentum Sacrificium 28. Altare Seraphinorum 29. Agnus Dei 30. Alma Redemptoris Mater 31. Domine Ad Adjuvandum Me Festing 32. * Magnificat 33. Magnificat 34. Quia Respexit 35. Ecce Enim Ex Hoc 36. Quia Fesit 37. Et Misericordia 38. Fecit Potentiam 39. Deposuit Potentes 40. Esurientes 41. Sicut Locutus 42. Gloria