
Saturday, June 3 / 8:00 p.m. / Corpus Christi Chapel
PRELUDIUM I
Dialogues
Dialogue of the Human Voice and Strings / Reflection & Meditation
Schola Gregoriana Pragensis / David Eben
Jiří Bárta – violoncello
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Schola Gregoriana Pragensis ranks among pathfinding ensembles active in this country in the field of plainchant. Approaching this monophonic Latin liturgical vocal music with due respect for a repertoire whose surviving ancient note material offers us only a limited amount of information, combined with solid scholarly expertise, the ensemble demonstrates this music´s unpretentious beauty. Plainchant is essentially meditative, and its modal tunes may even sound somewhat exotic to the ears of modern-time listeners. At the same time, it affords ample room for imagination. On this occasion, it is being confronted with music of several 20th and 21st-century composers, including Zoltán Kodály, Arvo Pärt or Sofia Gubaidulina. Cellist Jiří Bárta and Schola Gregoriana directed by David Eben have engaged in a concert-platform dialogue which has been going on for a number of years now. This dialogue between the sound of the cello, with its remarkable resemblance to the human voice, and the unison of male voices, has multiple layers and facets, its element of improvisation making each of their joint performances a unique experience.
sleeve-note: Dita Hradecká / translation: Ivan Vomáčka