Hasse & Zelenka: Sacred Music at the Saxon-Polish Court

This disc invites the listener to consider the musical splendor provided to back the worship of 18th century Saxon-Polish nobles. Hasse was himself a noted tenor who wrote operas to feature the voice of his wife, singer Faustina Bordoni. With such consideration and his abundant skill, he composed a beautifully interwoven series of soprano, alto, and tenor solos for the "Ecce Enim in Iniquitatibusin" his "Miserere in C Minor" presented here. This requiem is based on "Psalm 50." His lifework, much of which was produced during his tenure at the Saxon capital of Dresden, earned Hasse such regard in his lifetime as few composers have had. Few such regarded composers are as completely forgotten, as well. It is wonderful and rare opportunity to hear this complete work, performed as it is very ably by four soloists, the 23-member Dresden Church Choir, and the 25-member Dresden Baroque Orchestra. It is easy to hear in the sublime grace exhibited in "Miserere" why Hasse's contemporary fame was justified, and his current anonymity is tragic. Due to Hasse's early experience and education, this example of court-sponsored artistry, while graceful and elegant, is distinctively in the Italian style. Zelenka's "Missa Dei Filli (Mass of the Son of God) in C Major" is a mass also in the Italian tradition. Unfinished, the "Kyrie" and "Gloria" that reach listeners are an artistic compromise of lucid beauty between the bright key and the pathos of Christ. Thus poignant and melancholy, it mates well with Hasse's requiem. While the ascendant, divine, awe-inspiring beauty typified by such other German masses as those of Bach is present, much Italian Baroque aesthetic consideration is taken. This recording is an excellent introduction to an artistically rich and multicultural period of both German and Polish history. Notes and complete texts are provided in German, French, and English.