For our summer concert, we are visiting Bohemia and its great late 19th-century composers. In particular, we shall be singing Dvořák’s much loved Mass in D (Op. 86). This was composed in 1887 at the suggestion of his patron Josef Hlávka for the inauguration of Lužany Castle’s chapel, on 11 September 1887. The Mass was conducted by Dvořák himself, the soprano part was sung by Hlávka’s wife Zdenka, and the alto part by the composer’s wife Anna.

The choir will also sing Dvořák’s Six Moravian Songs (Šest moravských dvojzpěvů). Originally composed as a series of duets (Op. 32), Dvořák and Janáček met in 1877, and went on a summer walking tour of Bohemia. Later that year, Janáček arranged four selections from those duets for mixed chorus, using Dvořák’s original piano accompaniment. He arranged two more selections in 1884, conducting his arrangement in Brno. His support helped to popularize Dvořák’s music among the Czech public.

We shall also perform the Opening Chorus from Bedřich Smetana’s comic opera, The Bartered Bride, where a crowd of villagers are celebrating at the church fair (‘Let’s rejoice and be merry’), and our Choral Scholars will perform songs by Czech composers.