Tranen

Tomáš Šelc dedicates himself to cantata and oratorio literature from the 18th to the 20th century, romantic songs and opera, collaborating with excellent orchestras, ensembles and conductors (Bamberger Symphoniker, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale Gent, Taverner Consort etc.). However, it is in the works of Jan Dismas Zelenka and JS Bach that he seems most at home. Therefore, the choice of Zelenka for his Supraphon debut was clear, as was his collaboration with the renowned ensemble Collegium Marianum. The album presents three of Zelenka's great liturgical works for bass, composed in the milieu of the court ensemble of Dresden over a span of seven years. The masterfully evoked atmosphere of somberness of the first Lamentations of Jeremiah (1722) for the Tenebrae liturgy, the dignified praise of the Lord in the psalm Confitebor tibi Domine (1729) and the pleading cries from the vale of tears of this world in the Marian antiphon Salve Regina (1724) are brought to us with all their urgency by the silky quality of Šelc's voice. The Flute Concerto by Giuseppe Tartini reminds us that we do not only call out from the depths of darkness; the heights of gentle comfort are also truly within reach. Those heights resound here in the tender and colorful tones of the flute played by Jana Semerádová, who drives away the clouds and brings a smile to our face. Depths of darkness and radiant brightness of existence are two inseparable dimensions of life on this earth.