Pavlica’s music set for pre-Christmas concert, 22.12.2014

Jiří Pavlica had this to say about his composition: “The first version of the piece ‘Missa brevis pastoralis’ was written in 1997 for soloist, mixed choir and chamber orchestra as an idyllic recollection of my own childhood world filled with parental love and family harmony, when everything was underpinned by my mum’s smile and my dad’s benevolence. In 1999 I completed my ‘little mass’, finishing the Sanctus part, which expresses the joy of expectation of the birth of our daughter, last. The premiere took place at the Besední dům in Brno on the very day that she was born, 22.12.1999. A lot of water has flown under the bridge (in the Morava and in the Vltava) since then and the mass has taken on a life of its own in productions by various choirs accompanied by organ or chamber orchestra. In 2014, prompted by the dramaturgy of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, I returned to the Missa brevis again in order to rework it for large orchestra. Today we will hear its premiere performance at the Rudolfinum’s august Dvořák Hall, and simultaneously via a live radio broadcast, symbolically 15 years to the day from its first chamber performance. My hope is that it doesn’t lose anything of its original concept of harmonious childhood and that this new understanding reflects the need for a contemporary conception of the Christmas message, a message of hope, love and the birth of new life. Indeed, this seems ever more relevant and urgent in the context of today’s world.”

PROGRAMME:
Josef Suk: Serenade in E-flat major, Op. 6
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra in C major, K. 299
Jiří Pavlica: Missa brevis for Solo Voices, Mixed Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Marek Šedivý, conductor

Jae-A Yoo, flute
Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Markéta Halířová, soprano
Roman Janál, baritone

Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno,
choirmaster Petr Fiala

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

Live broadcasting of Czech Radio Vltava