Jakub Jan Ryba: Missa pastoralis bohemica: Chœur Mixte et Ensemble

Freely rhymed Mass settings; available either in German or Czech. The Bohemian Christmas masses are a typical product from the end of the 18th century. Jan Jakub Ryba’s Pastoral Mass from 1796 is a prototype of this genre. It was set in Czechoslovakian and filled with a conscious simple, folk-like musicality, which every villager in Ryba’s time could understand. Correspondingly, Ryba’s work became so popular that in the course of time according to Milan Kuna, the editor of the Mass “it was felt to be a symbol of Czechoslovakian Christmas.” In addition to the original text the music also includes a German singing text.