Opening ORGAN CONCERT
The Seventh Chamber of My Self, or Between Angels and Muses
Saturday, 2. 9. 2023 at 19:00
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Vranov nad Dyjí (Czechia)
Prepare for a musical journey through the works of the master Adam Václav Michna of Otradovice (1600–1676), a Czech Baroque composer who became famous for his collection "Czech Marian Music", Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), a German Baroque composer known especially for his Canon in D major, and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), a German compositional genius whose work continues to influence the entire musical world to this day.
In the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the heart of Vranov nad Dyjí, history will combine with art. The organ will be played by Jaroslav Tůma, a renowned Czech organist and professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. His interpretation combines a wide range of styles from the Renaissance to the 21st century. Tůma is also a laureate of a number of prestigious international music competitions.
During the concert, you will also encounter an author’s reading by Marek Orko Vácha, a Czech Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and writer. Vácha will present excerpts from his book "The Ship", which has won acclaim from readers for its depth and poetry.
Künstler
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Jaroslav Tůma was born in 1956. He is a concert organist and professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He also gives concerts on the harpsichord, clavichord, fortepiano, and other keyboard instruments. He is also active in musical composition and publishing.
He graduated from the Prague Conservatory under Prof. Jaroslav Vodrážka and the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) in Prague under Prof. Milan Šlechta (organ) and Prof. Zuzana Růžičková (harpsichord). He is a winner of first prizes in organ improvisation competitions in Nuremberg in 1980 and in Haarlem, the Netherlands, in 1986; he is a laureate of numerous organ interpretation competitions, such as in Linz in 1978, the Prague Spring competition in 1979, the Johann Sebastian Bach competition in Leipzig in 1980, and many others.
In the course of his extensive concert activities, he has visited almost all European countries, as well as the USA, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Mongolia, South Africa, Singapore, etc. He is also active as chairman or member of juries of international music competitions, and he passes on his interpretation experience in many international organ courses and seminars. Since 2016, he has also been involved in the "Mecca of Organists" organ courses, which are intended for budding organ professionals.
Tůma’s repertoire includes key works by Czech and international composers in a wide range of styles from the Renaissance to the 21st century. His discography currently comprises 64 solo titles, released by Supraphon (until 2002) and later mainly by Arta Records (from 1991 to the present).
In 2010, he was appointed titular organist of Svatá Hora in Příbram, where in 2020 he recorded the complete organ works of J. S. Bach on the 2018 Vladimír Šlajch organ as part of an audiovisual project in collaboration with producer and director Alexandr Vojta. He is also involved in the programming of the Svatá Hora Organ Half-Hours, held in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary since 2017.
Audio-visual recordings of Jaroslav Tůma’s concerts from recent years, supplemented with commentaries and interviews, are gradually being published on the tajemstvitonu.cz portal.
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Marek Vácha (*1966 Brno) is a Czech Roman Catholic priest, theologian, naturalist, teacher, writer, and scout. He graduated from the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University in the field of molecular biology and genetics. He received his theological education by studying in Olomouc and Brussels. In his doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, he focused on the ethical issues of understanding the human genome and on the genetics of behaviour. He currently serves as the parish priest of the Lechovice parish and as a parochial vicar (chaplain) of the Roman Catholic Academic Parish at the Church of the Most Holy Saviour in Prague. In the academic sphere, he holds the position of head of the Institute of Ethics and Humanities at the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, where he is also the chairman of the academic senate. He specializes in issues of medical and environmental ethics.
In 1976, he was given the nickname "Orko", meaning "Eagle’s Eye", by the scout leader Zdeněk Papoušek, which he also uses in his civil name, Marek Orko Vácha. He has participated in two expeditions to Antarctica (1997 and 2000) to the Eco Nelson base on Nelson Island in the South Shetland Islands with Jaroslav Pavlíček, and he repeatedly embarks on other long journeys, from which he also draws inspiration for his public activities and some of the motifs in his popular books, such as "Return to the Tree of Life. Evolution and Christianity" (2005), "The Last Land: Antarctica" (2007), "I Wish I Could Dance My Dance Well Under the Stars" (2010), "Prayer of the Argentine Nights" (2011), "The Ship" (2012), and "Unsolicited Advice to Youth" (2017). The book of interviews with Josef Valenta, "Driving in the Left Lane", was nominated for the Magnesia Litera in 2020. He is a regular guest or creator of programmes on NOE television.
Entritt
Voluntary admission
Programme
(1600–1676)
From the collection "Czech Marian Music" – 1647
(*1956)
From the collection "Labyrinth of Holy Love" A.D. 2014
(1653–1706)
(1600–1676)
From the collection "Czech Marian Music" – 1647
(*1956)
(1685–1750)
Allegro - Larghetto - Allegro
(1600–1676)
From the collection "The Czech Lute" – 1653
(*1956)
From the collection "The Czech Lute" on themes by A. V. Michna
(1656–1746)
Euterpe, or the Giver of Pleasure, is the muse of music
Fotogallerie
Ort
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the parish church of the Roman Catholic parish of Vranov nad Dyjí, located in the centre of the town of Vranov nad Dyjí. It is a late Romanesque building, later rebuilt in the Gothic style. The church, as part of the complex including the presbytery, is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The church was built in the first half of the 13th century and was subsequently extended. In its original form, the church was sacked by the Swedes in 1645, leaving only the foundations, which are preserved in the walls of the present church. The church was rebuilt in 1685 with the support of the noble Althann family, who continued to support the church in subsequent years. Among other things, Countess Marie Anna Althann donated an altarpiece of the Virgin Mary to the church. Around 1700 the nave was vaulted, around 1720 the original tower was demolished and a new masonry tower was built in 1720. In 1767 the roof was repaired and in 1778 the choir was vaulted. Between 1781 and 1782 the cemetery wall was repaired and a year later a watchman’s house was built, which was converted into an ossuary after 1800 - but was soon demolished. In the 1930s the church was repaired, between 1933 and 1934 the surroundings of the church were repaired and in 1936 the interior was repaired. In 1957 oil stoves were installed in the church, in 1958 the church was painted and in 1968 and 1969 the roof of the sacristy and the chancel were gradually reconstructed. In 1986 the roof of the church was repaired again.
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