
IMPRESSIONS / Songs
MARIA TAYTAKOVA / soprano & LADISLAV FANZOWITZ / piano
Recording venue: State Philharmonic Hall in Košice, Slovakia
Recorded: July...
IMPRESSIONS / Songs
MARIA TAYTAKOVA / soprano & LADISLAV FANZOWITZ / piano
Recording venue: State Philharmonic Hall in Košice, Slovakia
Recorded: July – August 2021
Sound engineer: Rostislav Pavlík
Photo: Ctibor Bachratý
Cover design: Peter Beňo
Notes and translation: Peter Katina
Produced by Maria Taytakova & Ladislav Fanzowitz
Executive producer: Ján Sudzina
Recording label: Hevhetia ©, 2021 HV 0227-2-331, SOZA / BIEM
IMPRESSIONS / Songs – Lʼinvitation au voyage (1870)
Henri Duparc (1848 – 1933)
MARIA TAYTAKOVA / soprano & LADISLAV FANZOWITZ / piano
IMPRESSIONS / Songs – Vocalise-étude (1935)
Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992)
MARIA TAYTAKOVA / soprano & LADISLAV FANZOWITZ / piano



CANTIONES SACRAE Vol. II
Slovak sacred songs, which from earliest times have been imbued with elements of folk music, may be considered the most significant...
CANTIONES SACRAE Vol. II
Slovak sacred songs, which from earliest times have been imbued with elements of folk music, may be considered the most significant sphere of musical work created on the territory of Slovakia. Their remarkably developed genre displays a rich variety of melodic and compositional forms that evolved in course of centuries. They were preserved in numerous hymnals and song collections, dated mainly from the 17th century. Slovak sacred songs contain not only features of Reformation chorales, hymns and responsoria, but also traces of earlier medieval music. Attributes of Franco Flemish polyphonic innovations, “musica ficta”, and late Renaissance dance music are also in evidence. This demonstrates a close connection with major centers of European music, such as Italy, France, Flanders and Germany. Despite the fact that sacred songs from the territory of Slovakia demonstrate a great variety of composition and melody, they have until recently remained a little known genre. Although many characteristics of sacred songs disappeared by the 19th century, they influenced later liturgical music.
All sacred songs that have been reconstructed in this recording, are representative of the songs celebrating the cycle of holidays from Advent to Christmas. By their nature they range between folk songs and polyphonic music. We attempted to approximate as much as possible the authentic form of each sacred song whose charming hybrid character permits various interpretations. In each case we strove to preserve the vocal and instrumental arrangement of the period. At the same time we tried to emphasize the beauty and unique character of the songs. In some cases for Christmas songs and carols that have survived until the present time, texts dating from a later period were employed, since these remain part of Slovakia’s cultural heritage. To this day, the joy and spirit of Christmas still reverberates in the expressive music with which our ancestors celebrated the birth of the Savior.
Realization and texts by Egon Krák
Chorus Angelorum Ensemble
The Chorus Angelorum Ensemble was founded by a group of young musicians under the direction of Egon Krak. The initial aim of the
founders was not only to perform music of 15th – 17th centuries, but also to revive old music preserved in Slovakia in its authentic form. Their first presentation of sacred songs from the territory of Slovakia was released in 1996. The Chorus Angelorum Ensemble brings together singers and musicians who share a natural affinity for performing old music on copies of historical instruments. It is an international ensemble composed of leading musicians from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Russia. Each of them is a specialist in his own right and all of them participated in the recording with great pleasure, creating the authentic atmosphere of bygone times.
CHORUS ANGELORUM ENSEMBLE
Mária Tajtáková
soprán1,2 / soprano1,2
Slávka Horváthova
alt / contralto
Peter Luknár
tenor / tenore
Peter Koma
barytón / baritone
Stanislav Beňačka
bas / bass
na nástrojoch / on instruments
Juraj Korec
priečna flauta / traverse flute, zobcová flauta / treble
recorder, kamzíčie rohy / goat-horns, kornamúzy / cornemuses,
šalmaj / shawm
Radek Vašina
cink / cornet
Steffen Schwartz
altový a tenorový renesančný trombón / renaissance trombone
(alto, tenore)
Viliam Solčány
tenorová kornamúza1 / cornemuse tenore1
Alexander Stepanov
tenorová kornamúza2 / cornemuse tenore2
Marek Spústa
basová kornamúza / cornemuse basso, basová zobcová flauta / bass recorder
Miloš Valent
viola da braccio
Peter Krivda
viola da gamba
Rudolf Měřinský
renesančná lutna 10 zborová / renaissance lute, teorba 16 zborová
(theorbe, barokové gajdy / baroque bagpipes, rolničky / jingle bells
Egon Krák
dirigent / conductor
Sélections de musique
Vitaj ó Ježišku narodený - 1:53
(Msc. Matica slovenská manuscripts, XVIII. cent.?)
soprano solo, recorders, viola da braccio, viola da gamba, lute (No. 19)
Ajhľa Panna / Ej Panenka z mileneho synka - 2:49
(Cithara Sanctorum 1636 – 25, Cantus Catholici 1651, 1655 –26
soprano sólo, contralto, traverse flute, bass recorder, viola da braccio, viola da gamba, theorbe (No. 10)
Psalli te / Pejme mu - 1:33
(Závorkov 1602, Hlohovský 1622, Cantus Catholici 1651, 1655 – 50)
soprano solo, choir, traverse flute, bass recorder, viola da braccio, viola da gamba, theorbe (No. 12)




CANTIONES SACRAE Vol. I
A sacred song is a combination of music and text with some religious content. In the past, the sacred songs were sung throughout the...
CANTIONES SACRAE Vol. I
A sacred song is a combination of music and text with some religious content. In the past, the sacred songs were sung throughout the whole church year. They enjoyed a wide popularity and have been preserved in various versions, reflecting the different stages of their development. The songs performed at Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Whitsuntide, and on Corpus Christi Day have each their special character. To harmonize with the liturgy, the songs were alternately grave, jubilant, joyful, or even dance-like in character. In their various forms they reveal the fine sense of beauty and spiritual attainments of our ancestors. They exude the sublime meekness, pathos and joy, wisdom and belief in the presence of God. Some of them are real music gems. Their structure consisted of elements derived from both secular and sacred cultures. They are mostly in the form of a chorale, some of them are antiphonal, psalmodic or hymnic in nature.
There have been sacred songs in Slovakia since medieval times. Some of them had a Slovak origin but most of them were even older and came to Slovakia from foreign countries. Thanks to the beautiful music, lyricism and diversity of styles, the sacred songs are one of the most interesting forms in the development of Slovak music. Hundreds of songs have been discovered only in a fragmentary form, with simple melodies for one voice and frequently lacking words. In this form they were preserved in several song collections and hymnals found in Slovakia, e.g. Cithara Sanctorum (1636) and Cantus Catholici (1651). The creators were generally anonymous but we have, at least, been able to distinguish songs of non-Slovak origin from earlier sources. A special place among the sacred songs is occupied by the psalms of Jan Silvan – presented here in the restored form for the first time. They attract with their melodic and harmonic structure, as well as with the content of their words. The spiritual message in Silvan’s songs reflects the mood of humanism and renaissance in Slovakia at that time. The songs were included in the collection The Songs on Seven Penitent Psalms and Other Psalms (Písně nové na sedm žalmů kajícich a jiné žalmy) printed for the first time in Prague in 1571
The medieval, renaissance and baroque songs demonstrate the exceptional creativity of the Slovak people. These sacred songs, worshipping God and Christian tenets, do not belong only to the precious legacy of the church music but, due to their high artistic level, to the general music heritage. They represent the important examples of the art of music in Slovakia. The vocal and the instrumental parts of the songs presented on this CD have been restored strictly according to the specificities of their original style.
Realization and texts by Egon Krák.
Chorus Angelorum Ensemble
The Chorus Angelorum Ensemble was founded by a group of young musicians under the direction of Egon Krak. The initial aim of the founders was not only to perform music of 15th – 17th centuries, but also to revive old music preserved in Slovakia in its authentic form. Their first presentation of sacred songs from the territory of Slovakia was released in 1996. The Chorus Angelorum Ensemble brings together singers and musicians who share a natural affinity for performing old music on copies of historical instruments. It is an international ensemble composed of leading musicians from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Russia. Each of them is a specialist in his own right and all of them participated in the recording with great pleasure, creating the authentic atmosphere of bygone times.
CHORUS ANGELORUM ENSEMBLE
Mária Tajtáková
soprano / soprán
Ivana Mináriková
mezzosoprano / mezzosoprán
Peter Luknár
tenore 1 / tenor
Viliam Solčány
tenore 2 / tenor
Peter Koma
baritone / barytón
on instruments / na nástrojoch
Juraj Korec
traverse flute / priečna flauta, recorder (treble, basso) / zobcová flauta,
basset flute / basetová flauta, goat-horn / kamzičí roh, cornemuses (soprano, alto, tenore, basso) / komamúzy, shawm / šalmaj, wind-cup-shawm / rauschpfeiffe
Radek Vašina
cornet / cink
Viliam Solčány
cornemuse (tenore) / kornamúza
Marek Spústa
cornemuse (basso) / kornamúza, recorder (basso) / zobcová flauta
Miloš Valent
violin / husle, viola da braccio
Milan Rusko
hurdy-gurdy / organistrum
Rudolf Měřinský
renaissance lute / renesančná lutna 10 zborová, theorbe / teorba 16 zborová
Egon Krák
conductor/dirigent
Sélections de musique
HYMNUS. SALUTATIS HUMANAE SATOR - 1:17
Ježíši mé vykoupení (XVII.cent.?)
(Cantus Catholici 1651 –118, Regina coeli antiphone)
soprano sólo, mezzosoprano sólo, recorder, viola da braccio, bass recorder, theorbe (No. 18)
JÁN SILVÁN (1493-1573):
Pane Bože ne v prchlivosti tvé (1) - 2:15
(Písně nové na sedm žalmů kajících a jiné žalmy, 1571)
soprano sólo, tenore solo 1, goat-horn, viola da braccio, bass recorder, lute (No. 3)