PROGRAMME OF THE 12TH EDITION, 15–20 OCTOBER 2026
The 2026 Zelenka Festival Prague – Dresden will take place from 15 to 20 October 2026 in Prague and Dresden.
At the opening concert on 15 October, Ensemble Inégal and Dresdner Kammerchor will perform Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Miserere in D minor, ZWV 56, together with Zelenka’s arrangement of the legendary Miserere by the 17th-century Italian composer Gregorio Allegri. The two ensembles will present the same programme the following day, 16 October, at Dresden’s Dreikönigskirche. The second Prague concert, on 18 October, will offer an insight into Zelenka’s secular vocal collection. The Slovak ensemble Musica Aeterna, together with soloists Gabriela Eibenová and Lenka Cafourková and the ensemble’s artistic director Peter Zajíček, will guide you through an evening full of operatic numbers from the Dresden repertoire of the period when Jan Dismas Zelenka worked as a teacher of Italian singers. The final concert will be devoted entirely to instrumental music. The outstanding French ensemble of young virtuosos, Le Chapitre, will come to the festival to present the second part of Zelenka’s cycle of Trio Sonatas, whose publication in the mid-20th century stimulated interest in the rediscovery of Zelenka’s music.
Thu 15/10/2026 – 7:30 pm
Church of Our Lady beneath the Chain, Lesser Town
J. D. ZELENKA AND G. ALLEGRI: MISERERE
- Ensemble Inégal
- Dresdner Kammerchor /DE/
The programme performed by Ensemble Inégal and Dresdner Kammerchor consists of two penitential psalms, Miserere, composed almost a century apart. Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere, probably written in the 1630s, is one of many fascinating works that entered Zelenka’s music collection at that time. Zelenka provided Allegri’s double-choir composition, originally intended for a cappella performance, with his own instrumental accompaniment and most likely performed it in this arrangement in Dresden in 1733. Jan Dismas Zelenka composed his Miserere in D minor as part of a commission for Holy Week compositions in 1722. The work bears witness to Zelenka’s mastery of counterpoint, melodic invention and his fondness for musical puzzles, whose correct interpretation has challenged many scholars and musicians over the years.
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Fri 16/10/2026 – 7:30 pm
Dreikönigskirche, Dresden
J. D. ZELENKA AND G. ALLEGRI: MISERERE
- Ensemble Inégal
- Dresdner Kammerchor /DE/
Ensemble Inégal and Dresdner Kammerchor will present the same concert programme a day later at Dresden’s Dreikönigskirche. Two penitential settings of Miserere, composed a full century apart, will be performed. The first is Gregorio Allegri’s legendary double-choir work, which Zelenka enriched with his own instrumental accompaniment and most likely performed himself in Dresden in 1733. The second is Zelenka’s own Miserere in D minor from 1722. This masterful composition for Holy Week continues to captivate listeners with its melodic invention, contrapuntal perfection and famous musical puzzles.
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Sun 18/10/2026 – 7:30 pm
Knights’ Hall of the Grand Priory Palace, Lesser Town
FROM ZELENKA’S SECULAR VOCAL COLLECTION
- Musica Aeterna /SK/
- Gabriela Eibenová – soprano
- Lenka Cafourková – soprano
- Peter Zajíček – artistic director
As senior composer at the court, Jan Dismas Zelenka served as acting Kapellmeister, which included providing secular vocal music for regular chamber concerts held at the Dresden Royal Palace. Zelenka’s private collection of arias, duets and cantatas, which he assembled, was used at these concerts and as study material not only for himself but also for young Italian singers. In a programme full of virtuosic vocal pieces, soloists Gabriela Eibenová and Lenka Cafourková will perform with the Slovak ensemble Musica Aeterna under the direction of Peter Zajíček.
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Tue 20/10/2026 – 7:30 pm
Knights’ Hall of the Grand Priory Palace, Lesser Town
JAN DISMAS ZELENKA: TRIO SONATAS
- Le Chapitre /FR/
- Lenka Torgersen – violin
- Jan Čižmář – theorbo
Zelenka’s cycle of Trio Sonatas comprises six works for chamber ensemble. Their publication in the mid-20th century became a crucial impulse for the rediscovery of Zelenka’s music. The French ensemble of virtuosos Le Chapitre will come to the festival to present the second part of this exceptional sonata cycle, following on from last year’s programme. The programme will be realised in collaboration with acclaimed Czech artists, violinist Lenka Torgersen and theorbist Jan Čižmář.
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The festival is organised by Ensemble Inégal with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the City of Prague and the Czech-German Future Fund.
