Description

Please wear a mask whilst moving around within the church to reduce COVID risk to you and others. Follow whatever COVID rules apply at the time of the concert.

The Dvorak Mass in D is a little unusual. Known in Czech as the Luzany Mass, it has TWO catalogue numbers 153 for the original composition for Choir and Organ, 175 for the Choir and Orchestral version both with the same Opus number 86.

The Mass in D major was instigated by leading architect and patron of the arts Josef Hlavka, later the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In 1886 Hlavka had a new chapel built at his summer residence, a castle in Luzany in Western Bohemia.

When the chapel was to be consecrated the following year, he asked his friend Dvorak to write a new mass for the occasion. Dvorak, who thought very highly of Hlavka, was glad to oblige and wrote a mass for solos, choir and organ. He completed the work within three months in 1887 and conducted the piece at its premiere.

The composer offered the mass to his publisher Simrock, but the latter did not show much interest, thus Dvorak turned to the English firm Novello, who accepted the work and paid Dvorak a fee for it but did not publish the organ arrangement, instead they pressed Dvorak for an orchestral version which he produced in 1892 and Novello published it in the following year.

Amazingly the Organ version wasn't published until 1963 and it is this version we will perform.

Should be a great concert.
Please note: Information above sourced from the www.antonin-dvorak.cz website.

Parking at the church itself is limited however arrangements are in place to use Almond Hill School for car parking.

Description

Rectory Lane,

Stevenage,

Hertfordshire,

England,

SG1 4DA.