SINGLE & SEASON CONCERT TICKETS FOR THE 2027 SEASON

The Music Chapel’s season ticket (for the season from January to December 2027) includes four concerts by the two residential ensembles: the Music Chapel’s Chamber Choir and the New Academy Baroque Orchestra. We kindly invite you to find out more and purchase a season ticket!

Single ticket: €15 · Full season ticket (4 concerts): €40
Sales and reservations can be made by email at rezervacije.abonma@gmail.com, by phone on +386 68 670 427, or at the venue one hour before the concert.

THE TWO RESIDENTIAL ENSEMBLES

🎶🎵 The Chamber Choir of the Jesuit College Music Chapel comprises experienced soloists who, united as a cohesive ensemble, have established themselves in Slovenia and beyond as an exceptional performing ensemble. The choir is distinguished by its rich sound and stylistic diversity – ranging from early Renaissance music and chorales to new works by Slovenian and foreign composers. The Music Chapel builds its identity on its close ties with its host institution, the Jesuit College in Ljubljana, and the rich Slovenian musical tradition. Beneath the vaults of the dome of the Jesuit Church of St Joseph, the rich acoustics give rise to a distinctive choral sound that significantly shapes the interpretation and broader perception of the musical language of the choir’s members. They regularly take part in liturgical celebrations and other events at the College.

🎶🎵 The Nova Akademija Baroque Orchestra comprises members and soloists of the Nova Akademija Society for the Promotion of Early Music. They draw their inspiration from the Academia Philharmonicorum, founded in 1701, one of the first musical institutions of its kind in Europe, which played a significant role in shaping cultural life both at home and abroad. They bring the musical tradition of that era into the present day and enable young musicians to learn, explore and perform early music in its authentic form. Through concerts, workshops, educational programmes and research projects, the orchestra and the Nova Akademija association foster an interest in early music and strengthen its presence in the Slovenian and wider cultural landscape – demonstrating that the music of past centuries is a living, dynamic and still significant part of our cultural heritage.

CONCERT PROGRAMME · SEASON 2027

I. Missa Nativitatis Domini, January 3
II. Biseri sakralne zakladnice (Gems of the sacred treasury), August 29
III. Miserere mei Deus · Te Deum, September 26
IV. Mesija (Messiah), December 26

Concert I. MISSA NATIVITATIS DOMINI
Sunday, January 3, 2027 · 7.00 pm
Soloists and Chamber Choir of the Jesuit College Music Chapel · New Academy Baroque Orchestra

Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745)
The Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka was educated at the Jesuit College in Prague, with which he maintained close ties throughout his life – indeed, he composed some of his most important works specifically for Jesuit ceremonies. Between 1716 and 1719, he studied under Johann Joseph Fux in Vienna.
From 1710, he worked in Dresden, initially as a member of the court orchestra and later as a church composer. He was held in high regard by his greatest contemporaries – Telemann, Graupner and Bach – and Johann Joachim Quantz was among his pupils. With his liturgical works, he is regarded as one of the most important Catholic composers of the first half of the 18th century; among these, the cycle of his last six masses stands out, whilst his Missa Divi Xaverii will mark the 300th anniversary of its composition in 2029.

Missa Nativitatis Domini, ZWV 8
Zelenka composed the Solemn Christmas Mass in D major in a tremendous rush between 16 and 23 December 1726 for the Dresden court chapel. He completed only the first three parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria and Credo) in his own hand; the Sanctus and Agnus Dei have been preserved in a copy held by Bach’s family – a testament to just how highly regarded the composer was. It is written for a festive ensemble comprising two trumpets, two oboes (which also play the flute), strings and a choir with four soloists; particular emphasis is placed on the wind instruments, whilst the counterpoint and chromaticism also shine with masterful brilliance.

Concert II. BISERI SAKRALNE ZAKLADNICE (GEMS OF THE SACRED TREASURY)
Sunday, August 29, 2027 · 7.00 pm
Chamber Choir of the Jesuit College Music Chapel

The Music Chapel will perform works by Slovenian composers (Janez Krstnik Dolar and Jacobus Gallus) and other European composers who wrote and dedicated their works to liturgical use. As well as performing these pieces, the Music Chapel also aims to present them in a liturgical context, which is why it regularly performs them during Masses.

Jakob Petelin Gallus was born in 1550 in Carniola and died on 18 July 1591 in Prague. He is also known as Jacobus Gallus Carniolus, which suggests that he was originally from somewhere in Carniola. Ribnica, Idrija and Šentviška Gora in the Tolmin area are cited as his birthplace. Scholars believe he was educated at the monastery in Stična. In his youth, he travelled extensively throughout what is now Austria. Around 1570, he is thought to have gone to Vienna, where he took up a post in the court chapel. Records in the court accounts show that he was still there in 1574 and met, amongst others, the composers P. de Monte and J. Regnart, who probably introduced him to the finer points of composition. After leaving Vienna, he visited various towns and monasteries, including Zwetll, Wrocław, Zabrdovice near Brno and Olomouc. In 1585, he went to Prague and led the Music Chapel at the Church of St John on the Bank. He remained there until his death. Gallus had a wide circle of patrons, who supported him both financially and morally. He was renowned as the greatest Renaissance composer. First, a selection of 16 masses, Selectiores quaedam missae (1580), was published in four volumes. He wrote numerous motets, which were published in four volumes under the title Opus musicum (1586–90). In total, he composed 374 of them. His madrigals were published in three books under the title Harmoniae morales (1589, 1590), and he composed 53 in total. The majority of his works were published during his lifetime; only a few remained in manuscript form. After his death, a collection of 47 secular choral works was published in 1596 by his brother under the title Moralia.

Concert III. MISERERE MEI DEUS · TE DEUM
Sunday, September 26, 2027 · 7.00 pm
Soloists and Chamber Choir of the Jesuit College Music Chapel · New Academy Baroque Orchestra

Janez Krstnik Dolar (1620–1673)
Born in Kamnik, he was one of the most important Slovenian composers of the European Baroque period. After attending the Jesuit school in Ljubljana and studying philosophy and theology in Vienna, he worked in Passau, in Győr, Hungary, and, between 1656 and 1658, as head of the music department at the Jesuit school in Ljubljana. He ended his career in Vienna as director of the Jesuit seminary and a distinguished member of the local circle of composers. His style reflects strong Italian influences, interwoven with distinctive individual traits. Dolar most likely set the 50th Psalm, Miserere mei Deus, to music between 1650 and 1660 whilst working at the Jesuit mission in Ljubljana.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704)
One of the most important and prolific French Baroque composers, best known today for the opening march from his Te Deum, which became the Eurovision anthem in 1954. As a young man, he travelled to Rome and became a pupil of Giacomo Carissimi; on his return, he ingeniously blended French elegance with Italian drama and was among the first to introduce the oratorio form to France. He took charge of the Jesuit Music Chapel in Paris and earned the title ‘Compositeur des Jésuites’. Despite an extensive body of work comprising more than 550 surviving pieces, he spent most of his career in the shadow of Jean-Baptiste Lully; his legacy was not fully recognised until the mid-20th century.

Concert IV. MESSIAH
Sunday, December 26, 2027 · 7.00 pm
Soloists and the Chamber Choir of the Jesuit College Music Chapel · the New Academy Baroque Orchestra

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Handel is regarded as one of the most influential composers of Baroque music, who created timeless masterpieces by blending German polyphony, Italian melodiousness and English grandeur. Born in Halle, he began his career as a violinist and harpsichordist in Hamburg, but underwent a crucial stylistic transformation between 1706 and 1710 whilst in Italy. He brought his passion for Italian opera and vocal tradition with him to London, where he settled permanently in 1712 and became a British citizen. When public interest in opera waned, he created an entirely new genre – the monumental English dramatic oratorio. Upon his death in 1759, he was buried with the highest honours at Westminster Abbey.

Messiah, HWV 56 (Part 1)
This oratorio, composed in 1741, is regarded as one of the most magnificent and most frequently performed works in the history of music. Handel composed it in just 24 days, based on biblical texts compiled by Charles Jennens; its premiere in Dublin in 1742 was a resounding success. Spanning three parts, the work reflects on the prophecies and the birth of Christ, his suffering and death, and his ultimate victory over death. This concert features the first (Advent and Christmas) part – a natural fit for the festive season – with expressive arias and monumental choral pieces.