Jubilate Deo in the Reviews: Collegium Marianum in Vienna and Frýdek-Místek
Over the course of a single weekend, Collegium Marianum, led by Jana Semerádová, presented its Jubilate Deo programme at two music festivals. On Saturday, 19 September, the ensemble performed works by Jan Dismas Zelenka and French Baroque masters at the Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna as part of the Lednice–Valtice Music Festival. The following day, the ensemble performed at the sold-out Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in Frýdek-Místek as part of the St Wenceslas Music Festival.
Both concerts received enthusiastic reviews, highlighting the ensemble’s outstanding musicianship, Jana Semerádová’s distinctive musical expression, and the programme’s imaginative combination of Czech and French Baroque music.
A Thrilling Prelude to the Lednice–Valtice Music Festival
Lenka Nota | Opera PLUS | 22. 9. 2026
“… Zelenka was followed by Jean-Marie Leclair’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo in C major, Op. 7, No. 3. The solo part on the traverso was performed by Jana Semerádová, artistic director and conductor of Collegium Marianum, with such elegance, effortless mastery, musical taste, lightness and playfulness in her ornamentation of the figurations that her interpretation was breathtaking. …”
From Zelenka’s Drama to the Splendour of Versailles
Tereza Mrázová | KlasikaPlus | 23. 9. 2026
“… It was precisely this combination of works that proved to be one of the evening’s greatest strengths. Although a first glance at the programme might have suggested otherwise, Zelenka’s music did not seem out of place alongside the French repertoire. On the contrary, it became clear that, despite their different stylistic backgrounds, the two musical traditions could engage in a compelling dialogue: while French music captivated with its elegance, dance rhythms and refined brilliance of sound, Zelenka brought greater dramatic tension and spiritual intensity to the programme.
Collegium Marianum has long demonstrated its ability to combine historically informed performance with meticulous attention to the score and the creation of a vibrant concert experience. Once again, this was far from a museum-like reconstruction of Baroque music. These centuries-old compositions came across as a living repertoire, still capable of moving audiences today. …”