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Jan Dismas Zelenka: (16th October 1679-22nd-23rd December 1745).

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Jan Dismas Zelenka and His Style of Composition

The aesthetic qualities and value of the music of Jan Dismas Zelenka (16th October 1679 Lounovice pod Blanikem--night of the 22nd to 23rd of December 1745 Dresden) were all but unknown to modern musical life for much of the 20th century. When an edition of the Bohemian composer's chamber and orchestral works came out and the top Swiss oboist Heinz Holliger made them famous by his masterly interpretations. Zelenka's music suddenly attracted an avalanche of interest on international scale. It was a final vindication for the handful of enthusiasts in Bohemia and Dresden who had been trying for decades but without much success to convince the world of Zelenka's exceptional contributions to music. Today he has been accepted and ranked alongside J. S. Bach, Handel, Vivaldi or Telemann as a major Baroque composer. The discovery led to enormous academic interest and grants from German universities and foundations, resulting in numerous editions of his music, biographical documents, a thematic catalogue, two major international conferences and lengthy collected papers, two books and other publications.

Zelenka received the basic elements of his musical education from his father Jiri, the choirmaster and organist in his native village. His views and outlook were probably also influenced by the local Roman Catholic priest Jan Komensky, nephew of the most important figure of the Czech Reformation and Bishop of the Bohemian Unity of the Brethren, Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius). We do not know whether this priest brought up his charges in a purely Catholic spirit, or told them about the stirring reformationary past and its ideas and symbols, and whether these ideas might then have influenced Zelenka's attitudes and faith. After the young musician moved to study at a Jesuit gymnasium in Prague he did or said something that was considered very wrong. Was this transgression something to do with doctrine, or did it reveal the homosexual orientation that has been suggested by the important Dresden scholar Wolfgang Reich, or was it something else? We don't know. All that is certain is that he carried with him a sense of guilt throughout his life and it strongly informed his music. Fortunately the Jesuits recognised his extraordinary talent as well as his guilt and gave him opportunities to compose and perform, but he did not go on to study at university. In 1704 he composed the music for the Jesuit school play Via laureata and then we know nothing of events in his life or other works until 1709. In this year he was...

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