Easter music composed by literary fraternities in the late 16th and early 17th centuries

A rare collection of Easter songs from the late 16th and early 17th century composed by literary fraternities was recorded by Czech Madrigalists, a vocal ensemble established in 1929.

Literary fraternities were communities of educated members of the middle classes who used to meet to sing songs of worship on Sundays. There were well over a hundred such fraternities in the Czech lands before 1620. Most of the preserved pieces of Czech music from the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century are connected with the activity of such literary fraternities, archived in churches, monasteries and chateaux here in the Czech Republic.

In today’s Sunday Music Show, we’ll be listening to Easter songs from the late 16th and early 17th century. The pieces, which survived in old hymn books, were composed by literary fraternities and were staged chiefly in churches in rural Bohemia. The songs presented on this album were recorded by Czech Madrigalists, a vocal ensemble established in 1929.