It’s hard to tell what’s going on here. Although it’s called a “mass”, and the movements are indeed named after the sections of the Roman liturgical service, Jakub Jan Ryba’s (1765-1815) Czech Christmas Mass abandons the traditional Latin texts for a format more akin to a pastoral play. Apparently what we’re hearing is dialogue (in Czech) among shepherds preparing to visit Bethlehem. The problem is, no texts or translations are included, so all we can do is listen and wonder exactly what all those soloists are singing about. Not that the music is especially interesting–it’s about as structurally formulaic as music from this period can get, and the scoring for four soloists, choir, organ, and orchestra offers not the slightest hint of originality.
But perhaps that’s not the point. This kind of work was designed as a familiar, accessible invocation of the Nativity story, presented in church on Christmas eve, and both the music and the words would have been well-known to the congregation–as it apparently is today in certain parts of the Czech Republic. And it’s that audience that likely will appreciate the simplicity and meaning inherent in this 39-minute scenario. The soloists are decidedly heavy of tone and/or wide of vibrato, especially the labored-sounding bass, but that seems to be a preference and a style. And no one can be accused of lacking enthusiasm or sincerity throughout the performances. The sound from this 1966 production is perfectly fine, and the “filler”, a four-minute pastorella for soprano, flute, organ, and orchestra titled My lovely Nightingale is charming and as musically naive and unpretentious as the mass.
