1. The Kroměříž Musical Archive
Kroměříž (KRÓ-mnye-rzīzh) is a seemingly modest hamlet in the Moravian region within what was once the Bohemian Lands, now the modern Czech Republic, or, if you prefer, Czechia. The archiepiscopal chateau there houses a remarkable trove of seventeenth-century music, thanks to the musicophilia of Prince Karl II von Leichtenstein-Kastelcorn (1623–1695), bishop from 1664 until his death, of the Moravian archdiocese of Olomouc (Ó-lo-mōwts), a beautiful city north of Kroměříž.
Karl led a major campaign of renovation and new construction in Kroměříž following the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). But he was also a serious music lover, as attested by a surviving collection that speaks to his taste, one that mirrored the Italianist preferences of Vienna, seat of the Habsburg court and the source of Karl’s secular authority.
Music by two composers in particular, unavailable in modern edition, first drew me to the Kroměříž archive: Giacomo Carissimi (1605–1674), an Italian most famous today among choral-music enthusiasts for two biblical oratorios, Jonah and Jephthe, along with a handful of secular cantatas well known to baroque music singers. The collection holds unpublished oratorios and motets by Carissimi, as well as first versions or alternate scorings of previously known works, all of it in manuscripts, and all of it unique to the archive.
The other composer, and my main draw, is Silesian-born Philipp Jacob Rittler (1637–1690), like Vivaldi, a priest. His extant music lives nearly entirely at Kroměříž. Some of his work was formerly credited to such contemporaries as Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1623–1680) and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704) until others’ examination of the Kroměříž manuscripts established Rittler’s authorship. Rittler’s quality is uniformly jaw-droppingly good, making his relative obscurity today a head scratcher.
I was especially interested in Rittler’s large-scale vocal works, the scoring and technical demands of which suggest that Kroměříž maintained an impressive orchestra and chorus. For instance, one of his Christmas masses is scored for 7 vocal soloists and chorus, 2 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 violins, 3 violas, violone and continuo. The music’s craftsmanship and expressivity, evident equally in his instrumental chamber music, rivals that of Monteverdi.
As Tempesta’s mission is to seek and perform some of the best baroque music you never knew you loved, a visit to Kroměříž became an imperative.
In May 2017, the day after our River Music performance, I set off for Central Europe.
A Czech Christmas represents more intimate sides of both Carissimi and Rittler, along with Pavel Josef Vejvanovský, Adam Václav (VĀH-tslav) Michna z Otradovic (Ó-tra-do-vitz), Giovanni Valentini, and a few extraordinary works that remain—for the time being—tantalizingly unattributed. We’ll perform with a four-voice quartet of vocal soloists, 2 trumpets, three recorders, two violins, two violas, cello, bass violin, organ and theorbo. A party, right?
In coming installments I’ll talk about the anonymous pieces which I’m crazy about, the town of Kroměříž, and what it was like to work in a chateau. I don’t know about you, but I’d never been to a palace before, much less set loose in one.
Many thanks to the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage for underwriting this exploration.
