Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Easter Mass

Jan Dismas Zelenka, (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745) dubbed the “Czech Bach”, is one of the most significant Baroque composers. Yet his music was largely forgotten after his death and was only rediscovered more than a century later. Today all his works are available in digitized form and have become increasingly popular with the public.

Photo: Nibiru publishers

Jan Dismas Zelenka (also known as Johann Dismas Zelenka or Johannes Lucas Ignatius Dismas Zelenka) was born in Lounovice pod Blaníkem, a small town southeast of Prague as the eldest of eight children. We know about his early years in Prague and Vienna where he received a music education, his contacts with the Jesuits, his service at the Dresden court where he spent most of his professional life and the pinnacle of his career: the performance of his composition "Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis" in the presence of Emperor Charles VI, shortly after his coronation as king of Bohemia in 1723.

However, much of Jan Dismas Zelenka’s life remains veiled in mystery. He never married or had children. We have no idea what he looked like, and not a single piece of personal correspondence was preserved for posterity. His simple tombstone at the Catholic cemetery in Dresden where he is buried says little about the man who left behind an impressive musical legacy. Only his music can give us more clues to his personality. His Easter Mass, or Missa Paschalis, composed in 1726, saw its modern-day premiere in 2013, when it was performed by Prague’s Ensemble Inégal.