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If you are at all interested in baroque music, but haven't yet explored the music of Jan Dismas Zelenka,
this site is for you.
Most musicologists dealing with music of this period
agree that the compositions of this long-forgotten musical giant
approach or equal those of his contemporaries Bach, Händel, Vivaldi and Telemann in their advanced use of
counterpoint, their extreme demands on the players and singers, their ingenuity and resourcefulness, and their overall beauty.
To those with pre-conceived ideas of how 18th century music should sound,
much of Zelenka's music will seem timeless and unrestricted. Yet he was greatly inspired by the Italian masters of the 1500s and 1600s such as Palestrina and
Frescobaldi. As a result of his strong individuality within the baroque tradition, Zelenka's music holds many surprises.
Zelenka wrote instrumental music (including orchestral suites and chamber sonatas), a great amount of church music of various kinds,
and also religious music for the "stage". During Zelenka's final years, much of his music was inspired by Italian opera, which became fashionable in Dresden
about fifteen years before he died. No-one has yet heard all of his music, since some of it is unpublished. An ever-increasing proportion is being recorded.
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Public repository containing electronic representations of little-known or unpublished Zelenka works. Here is a 5-minute example, Christe eleison (ZWV 29) from 1740.
These files have been contributed by regular visitors or forum members - for their interest value and to encourage possible perfomances or recordings.
If you wish to contribute, please send an e-mail to obtain information on how to upload your files.
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You can reach the Zelenka Forum at: www.zelenkaforum.net
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This website would not exist if Janice Stockigt (Australia) had not written her impressive book on the subject of Zelenka's life and music,
and if she hadn't been such a kind and helpful e-mail correspondent.
Wolfgang Reich (Dresden) supplied information and made several very useful suggestions.
Thanks also to Roger Peters (UK) [website] for his enthusiasm and unselfish attitude to spreading the word about Zelenka. Thank you to Alex Went (UK) for supplying the photographs from Zelenka's birthplace.
I am very grateful to Avner Kenner (Israel) for testing and commenting on the database searches in an objective and enthusiastic manner during their development. He also helped to find recordings and in interpretation of the music from Zelenka's manuscripts.
A special thanks to Dr. Karl. W. Geck, Head of the Music Department, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, who gave permission for the images from original manuscripts to be used on this website.
Vassilis Bolonassos of Sveriges Radio [website]: thank you for playing Zelenka's Dixit Dominus (ZWV 68) in 1997. This website can be traced back to your desire to inspire people in your very own way.
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