Te Deum 1781, Exsultate Deo – CD

This recording presents Franz Xaver Richters Te Deum 1781, Exsultate Deo from Quatro Motetti per la processione del Corpus Christi, Oboe Concerto in F and Sinfonia No. 52 in D, performed by Markta Bhmov, Pavla Radostov, Piotr Olech, Jaroslav Bezina, Jakub Kubn, Ji M. Prochzka, Luise Haugk, Czech Ensemble Baroque and conductor Roman Vlek. The nearly 1,000-kilometre journey west from Holeov in Moravia through Mannheim to Strasbourg represents Richters entire career, from the court orchestra of Count Rottal in Holeov to his prestigious position as director of music at Strasbourg Cathedral and in the city. Richter is often associated with the famous Mannheim orchestra, and the trumpet Sinfonia No. 52 in D is a typical example of his work there. His grand Te Deum is his second setting of this hymn text and was first performed in Strasbourg Cathedral in 1781 to commemorate the centenary of French administration of the city. Together with Exsultate Deo, it belongs to a still unexplored part of Richters vocal and instrumental output. The virtuosic yet graceful and finely balanced Oboe Concerto, with its original cadenzas, offers an insight into his concertante music. Following recordings of the Strasbourg Requiem and the passion oratorio La deposizione dalla croce, Czech Ensemble Baroque explores another part of this remarkable eighteenth-century composers artistic journey and uncovers further jewels from his neglected oeuvre.