JAKUB JAN RYBA – STABAT MATER

Most of us associate the name of Jakub Jan Ryba, composer, teacher, choir-master, writer and poet, with the Czech Christmas Mass ‘Hey, master’ from 1796. Thanks to numerous recordings and live performances during the Christmas season, it has become part and parcel of our Christmas. Not many people, however, are familiar with Ryba’s other work which will truly amaze general audiences with its beauty, invention and spiritual depth. Ryba wrote his Stabat Mater in six weeks and it is rightly considered the pinnacle of his oeuvre. Let us hope that this piece will also become a traditional musical celebration of our Easter holidays.