Search - Edmund Pascha, Jaroslav Krcek, Jiri Kolar :: Pascha: Christmas Mass/Christmas Carols

Happy, charming, occasionally wacky

DJ Rix | NJ USA | 08/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Pascha Mass is happy, charming, occasionally wacky 18th Century hybrid of baroque conventions, dance rhythms & Czech folk music. Sleigh bells & some sort of double reed folk instrument like a Platerspiel or small bagpipe are used. The score itself makes little attempt to absorb & fuse the various styles. One type just moves into another; this Mass definitely has a "Gloria" apart from the worlds of Bach & Vivaldi in everything but joyful song; it is more like an aural assemblage. The Carols are fitting "filler." Hard to imagine anyone being better at this than Musica Bohemia & Jaroslav Krcek, who record for the Czech import labels Supraphon & Panton, which is probably where this recording originated. Edmund Pascha himself is bit of a mystery. The price is right. Even when Media Partners includes liner notes, they aren't very detailed & never have a libretto. Bob Rixon"

Pascha? no, Father Georgius Zrunek!

Patrick H. Maxfield | Boston MA USA | 06/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For years, this work was attributed to Edmund Pascha (1714-1772) who also went by the name Claudianus Ostern. Pascha's published collections "Harmonia pastoralis" and "Prosae pastorales" are the sources for the works recorded here. The Mass from the former and the carols from the latter. Because the Mass was found in the collection "Harmonia pastoralis" it was presumed to be a work of Pascha. However, in recent years it was determined that it was in fact the "Missa pro festis Natalitiis" of Father Georgius Zrunek (1736-1789), a member of the Franciscan order."

Pascha Christmas Mass refreshingly different

Marilyn Simon | Oneonta, NY, USA | 12/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this recording! I used to live in Germany, and each Christmas a listeners' call-in request show played it. When I returned to the US I figured I would never hear it again. I found this recording, of all places, in a drug store. The mass is sung enthusiastically, and the wide array of sounds made by the peasant-type instruments provide a refreshing contrast to the very "serious" music of the season. There is nothing run-of-the-mill about this recording! If you like "ethnic" music and would like to hear some enthusisatic rejoicing at Christmas time, this is the recording to buy!"