Prague Philharmonic Choir, Prague RSO, Tomáš Netopil - Janacek: Glagolitic Mass & The Eternal Gospel (2014)

In the wake of the highly acclaimed recording of Janáček’s symphonic works (SU41312) which was an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, August 2013, Tomáš Netopil and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra have focused on the composer’s choral pieces.

The Glagolitic Mass is a well known work, yet not in the composer’s original “September 1927” version, as it was performed at the premiere in Brno, which has been recorded for the very first time for this CD. It is fascinating to observe how many distinct traits of Janáček’s expressive musical language have vanished from the work as a result of its later modifications.

The Eternal Gospel, on the other hand, is a piece virtually unknown worldwide (the only previous Supraphon recording was made almost fifty years ago). Janáček was inspired by, and created the libretto on the basis of, Jaroslav Vrchlický’s poem about the medieval monk Joachim de Fiore, to whom an angel appeared, bringing tidings of the arrival of a realm of love. Janáček worked on the piece concurrently with the opera The Excursion of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and completed it in the spring of 1914, a few months prior to the outbreak of World War I.

Netopil’s new recording may facilitate bringing the remarkable work back to concert stages. A premiere recording of the Glagolitic Mass’s original version.