Ars Rediviva

Czech classical music group

Supraphon
Panton
Columbia,
Deutsche Grammophon
CBS Masterworks
Nippon
Sony Classical

Past membersConductor, artistic director, flute
Milan Munclinger
Oboe
Stanislav Duchoň
Cello
František Sláma
Harpsichord
Viktorie Švihlíková

Ars Rediviva was a Czech classical instrumental music group, whose historically informed performances played a key role in the revival of Baroque music in Czechoslovakia.

Ars Rediviva chamber ensemble

The group was founded in 1951 in Prague by flautist and musicologist Milan Munclinger and his wife, pianist and harpsichordist Viktorie Švihlíková (she was later succeeded by Josef Hála). The original lineup also consisted of two prominent members of the Czech Philharmonic, cellist František Sláma and oboist Stanislav Duchoň (later succeeded by violinists Václav Snítil and Antonín Novák). From 1951 to 1956, Václav Talich collaborated with Ars Rediviva.

Orchestra, soloists

The band's repertoire consisted largely of chamber music, the works of J. S. Bach ranking high on the list. Depending on score requirements, the ensemble's size expanded regularly up to the chamber orchestra having mainly Czech Philharmonic instrumentalists as members (a complete string group with its section leaders, prominent wind-players, for example solo flautists Géza Novák and František Čech, solo oboist Jiří Mihule, solo bassoonists Karel Bidlo and František Herman, solo horn-players Miroslav Štefek and Zdeněk Tylšar, solo double-bass player František Pošta, etc.).

Ars Rediviva collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic Choir, Czech singers (Karel Berman, Ladislav Mráz, Jana Jonášová, Virginia Walterová, Ludmila Vernerová, etc.), and foreign artists, specializing in performances of Baroque and Classical music (e.g. András Adorján, Theo Altmeyer, Maurice André, Nedda Casei, Otto Peter, Jean-Pierre Rampal).

Season performances (1954–1994)

In 1954, the ensemble started giving season performances in Wallenstein Palace, and later in Rudolfinum) in Prague (six concerts, later twelve concerts per year). In four decades, several hundreds of compositions were introduced here, including scores of premiered archive pieces. Live recordings of Ars Rediviva performances in Rudolfinum are deposited in the Czech Museum of Music.

Repertoire, recordings

Ars Rediviva was the first ensemble in Czechoslovakia to record a large number of works of Johann Sebastian Bach (LPs of the complete Brandenburg Concertos, The Art of Fugue, The Musical Offering, trio sonatas, flute sonatas, cantatas, concerto reconstructions, etc.), Bach's sons (Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: sonatas, sinfonie symphonies, concerts; Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: sinfonies^[spelling?] symphonies, sonatas; Johann Christian Bach: chamber music, symphonies), Antonio Vivaldi (concertos, sonatas, Stabat Mater), Jean-Philippe Rameau (e.g. Pièces en Concerts), François Couperin (Les Apothéoses, Les Goûts réunis), Georg Philipp Telemann (concertos, orchestral suites, Nouveaux Quatuors, Tafelmusik, Essercizii musici, Der harmonische Gottesdienst, cantatas), Jan Dismas Zelenka (trio sonatas ZWV 181, orchestral works, Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae), Franz Benda (sonatas, flute concertos), Georg Benda (Ariadne auf Naxos, Bendas Klage, sonatas, concertos), etc. (for more see External links: Ars Rediviva Discography).

The ensemble recorded for Supraphon, Panton, Columbia, Ariola, CBS, Orfeo, Nippon, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, as well as for broadcasting and television companies and film industry (awards: Grand Prix du Disque, Supraphon Golden Lion, etc.).

Jan Tausinger, Ivan Jirko, Ilja Hurník, and other Czech composers dedicated their neoclassical compositions to Ars Rediviva (e.g., Hurník's Sonata da Camera, Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra.

References

Brunner, Gerhard (1968). "Schallplatten-Rezensionen (A.Vivaldi – Ars Rediviva)". Musica (in German) (2). Kassel: Bärenreiter: 305.
Kozák, Jan (1964). Českoslovenští hudební umělci a komorní soubory [Czech Music Performers and Chamber Ensembles] (in Czech). Prague: State Music Publishing. pp. 426–429, 454, 456, 469.
Kříž, Jaromír (1966). "Naši umělci a barokní interpretace" [Czech Musicians and Baroque Music Performance]. Hudební rozhledy [Music Observer] (in Czech). 19 (7). Prague: Svaz čs.skladatelů (Czechoslovak Composer Association): 207–208.
Lazarevich, Gordana (1977). "Reviews of Records". Musical Quarterly. LXIII (3). Oxford University Press: 446–450. doi:10.1093/mq/LXIII.3.446.
Mlejnek, Karel (April 1992), Hudba barokních mistrů. Ars rediviva [Baroque Music. Ars Rediviva] (in Czech), Prague: Czech Philharmonic/Czech Chamber Music Society
Pâris, Alain (1989). Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation musicale au XXe siècle (in French). Paris: Laffont.
Pâris, Alain; Rudolf Kimmig (1992). Lexikon der Interpreten klassischer Musik im 20.Jahrhundert (in German). Kassel: Bärenreiter. ISBN 3-7618-3291-5.
Rampal, Jean-Pierre (1989). Music, My Love. Random House. ISBN 0-394-56578-9.
Schuhmacher, Gerhard (1974). "Schallplatten-Rezensionen (G.P.Telemann – Ars Rediviva)". Musica (in German) (3). Kassel: Bärenreiter: 293.
Šeda, Jaroslav (1992). "Ars rediviva jubilující" [Ars Rediviva's 40th anniversary]. Koncertní život [Concert Life] (in Czech) (4–5). Prague: Pražský symfonický orchestr FOK [Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK]: 12–16.
Sláma, František (2001). Z Herálce do Šangrilá a zase nazpátek ("From Heralec to Shangrila and Back Again") (in Czech). Říčany: Orego. ISBN 80-86117-61-8.
Slonimsky, Nicolas; Laura Diane Kuhn; Dennis McIntire (1997). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-871271-4.
Smith, Judy (1974). "Recordings-quarterly check list 9". Early Music. 2 (3). Oxford University Press: 205–d–210. doi:10.1093/earlyj/2.3.205-d.
Vašatová, Jana (2001–2002). "Filharmonikové v souboru Ars rediviva (Ars Rediviva's 50th anniversary)". Rudolfinum Revue. 1 (1). Prague: Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic): 33–34.
Vignal, Marc (1982). Larousse de la musique (in French). Paris: Larousse. ISBN 2-03-511303-2.
Volek, Tomislav (1978). "Ars rediviva a Pražští madrigalisté" [Ars Rediviva and Prague Madrigalists]. Hudební rozhledy [Music Observer] (in Czech). 31. Prague: Svaz čs.skladatelů (Czechoslovak Composer Association): 21, 124.
Československý hudební slovník osob a institucí [Czechoslovak Music Dictionary] (in Czech). Prague: State Music Publishing. 1963–1965.
"Barockmusik av mästere". Onsdagen (Aftonbladet). Stockholm: Anders Gerdin. 9 April 1975.

External links

Documents, discography

František Sláma Archive Archived 27 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine: Ars Rediviva Archived 9 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Documents – Photographs – Sound Archive
Milan Munclinger in Documents and Reminiscences Archived 4 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
(in Czech) Viktorie Švihlíková Archived 27 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Documents – Photographs
Czech Philharmonic Instrumentalists and Ars Rediviva Archived 25 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Ars Rediviva Discography: Recordings with Supraphon and Panton 1954–1984 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
(in Czech) Czech Radio: Ars Rediviva recordings