Hyperion Records

The Marian antiphon Salve regina, mater misericordiae in A minor (Z135) was completed in September 1730. In the catalogue of his works, Zelenka entered the work as his own but in fact it is an arrangement of an anonymous piece which he had copied back in 1719. In the original version the voice is accompanied merely by two solo violins; in Zelenka’s arrangement the accompaniment is shared by a concertante flute, oboe and violin (muted in the first movement), and at times a larger ensemble. The result is a generously scored and substantial solo motet of five movements whose fine, elaborated composition is very much shaped by Zelenka’s personal style, especially in its splendid quirks of orchestration.

from notes by Peter Wollny © 2003
English: Viola Scheffel