Missa Corporis Domini • Collegium 1704

The Missa Corporis Domini probably dates from 1719, immediately after Zelenka’s return to Dresden from Vienna, where had been studying counterpoint under the famed Imperial Kapellmeister Johann Joseph Fux. Already in this relatively early work, we note Zelenka’s originality and wonderful mastery of counterpoint. Bach set Mary’s hymn of praise to music not long after accepting the position of cantor at St Thomas’s Church in 1723. It is the first major liturgical work in which Bach used a Latin text rather than a German one, thereby to some extent erasing the differences between the Catholic and Protestant traditions. Although a relatively early work, the Magnificat has become one of Bach’s most popular compositions.