Unique organ of monastery church resounded with Adam Václav Michna’s music

Mezinárodní hudební festival Český Krumlov – Kostel Božího Těla a Panny Marie Bolestné, v areálu bývalého minoritského kláštera, dnes ve vlastnictví Rytířského řádu Křížovníků s červenou hvězdou, foto: Libor Sváček, box@fotosvacek.cz

The concert of organist Jaroslav Tůma took place in the serene Sunday morning atmosphere at the church of Corpus Christi and the Grieving Virgin Mary. “I know the local organ very well. It is Nicolaus Christeindel’s instrument. I have a special fondness for it because it was preserved almost in its original state, which is rare. I hope that when its reconstruction takes place one day, the appointed organ maker won’t make any mistakes and the renovation will not harm the instrument in any way. It would be a great pity,” is how Jaroslav Tůma praised the “royal instrument” in the church of the former Minorite monastery. The organist commented on the program of his concert, “For today’s concert I select primarily music by Adam Václav Michna. I think it simply belongs to South Bohemia. Almost everybody knows Michna’s name in our country. Who wouldn’t know his Christmas song ‘Chtíc, aby spal’. He composed such beautiful melodies that I was always sorry that he didn’t write anything for the organ. And so I tried to make music in the old style based on his themes in the modern times. Moreover, it suits the type of the local organ really well.”  Jaroslav Tůma is a regular guest of the IMF Český Krumlov. And what would he like to play at the festival next time? “Next time I could perhaps make an experiment and make an excursion into the more distant parts of Europe. It would certainly be possible to play something from Spanish baroque literature, especially from the 17th century. But I believe I could find different interesting contexts in which I could use some stops of the local organ for purely contemporary music,” reflects the organist. The concert was completed by works by Johann Sebastian Bach and George Muffat and Jaroslav Tůma’s performance was rewarded by a warm applause.   



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