Whether you're a churchgoer or not, you will want to set aside time over the next two weeks for a visit to Sts. Simon and Jude Church in Old Town, where the Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK) is staging its second annual Easter Festival. Along with four large-orchestra concerts at Obecní dům, the program offers a full range of seasonal delights, from medieval liturgical music to contemporary jazz.

"We've tried to organize a festival that will appeal to everyone, young and old, locals and tourists," says FOK Program Director Petr Daněk. "Easter music doesn't have the same commercial appeal as Christmas music. But there's no problem finding plenty of good Easter music."

That was clear last year, when FOK launched the festival in conjunction with the Czech Philharmonic. Leaning heavily on Baroque, the 13-concert schedule served up a smart, tasty mix of familiar favorites and obscure works. With the Czech Philharmonic bowing out this year, the festival is a bit smaller (10 concerts) and more concentrated, but the programming draws from a broader, more cosmopolitan spectrum.

The festival opens next Tuesday (March 30) with an a cappella performance by the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, regarded as the best large choir in the country. The ensemble will have a chance to show what it can do with a meditative Passion Week program: Slovenian composer Jacob Handl's Lamentations of Jeremiah and sacred motets by Bruckner and Messiaen.

German organist Andreas Schröder will give the big pipes at Sts. Simon and Jude a workout with a program designed specifically for that organ.

"It's old and heavy, not appropriate for later music," explains Daněk. "But, for Baroque and early classical music, it's very good."

Accordingly, Schröder will be playing 17th- and 18th-century sacred works, including Bach's Fantasia super "Christ lag in Todesbanden," an organ treatment of his Easter chorale (April 6).

There are two Masses on the schedule, both performed by well-regarded specialty ensembles. Prague's Ensemble Inégal, which offers fresh interpretations of music ranging from the Renaissance to Romanticism, will be performing Gioachino Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle (April 7), an 1863 liturgical work with operatic overtones - not surprising, given that Rossini is best-remembered for his opera William Tell. And Weser-Renaissance, an early music group from Bremen, will be in town to perform Heinrich Isaac's Missa Paschalis, a Mass in 15 movements (April 13). The ensemble, which features five voices and period instruments, is led by Manfred Cordes, a noted expert in 16th- and 17th-century music.

Need a break from all the solemn sacred music? One of Prague's best jazz guitarists, David Dorůžka, will be playing with three young Polish jazz musicians (April 12). Jazz isn't played very often at Sts. Simon and Jude, but the church should be a good setting for Dorůžka's ethereal guitar lines. And the closing concert (April 14) belongs to Juventus Collegium FOK, an ensemble featuring the orchestra's young players, who will be performing Brahms and Mozart.

Daněk has larger ambitions for the festival, including cooperation with an Easter festival in Linz, which features a similar concentration in early music. Like all other plans these days, it awaits better times and funding. For now, the Easter Festival is lucky to have funding from the city of Prague (Mayor Pavel Bém is prominent in the program) and a sophisticated program with something for every discerning taste.