Janácek: Glagolitic Mass & The Eternal Gospel

In the wake of highly acclaimed recording of Janáceks symphonic works (Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba, etc., SU 4131; Orchestral Choice, Gramophone, August 2013), Tomá Netopil and the Prague Radio Symphony now focus on the composers vocal-instrumental pieces. The Glagolitic Mass is a generally known work, yet not in the composers 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 Janáceks expressive musical language vanished from the work as a result of its later modifications. The Eternal Gospel, on the other hand, is virtually unknown worldwide (the only previous Supraphon recording was made almost fifty years ago). Janácek was inspired by, and created the libretto on the basis of, Jaroslav Vrchlickýs poem about the medieval monk Joachim de Fiore. Janácek worked on the piece concurrently with the opera The Excursion of Mr. Broucek to the Moon and completed it in the spring of 1914, a few months prior to the outbreak of WWI.