Ars Rediviva


Ars Rediviva was a Czech classical instrumental music group, whose historically informed performances played a key role in the revival of Baroque music in Czechoslovakia.

Ars Rediviva chamber ensemble

The group was founded in 1951 in Prague by flautist and musicologist Milan Munclinger and his wife, pianist and harpsichordist Viktorie Švihlíková. The original lineup also consisted of two prominent members of the Czech Philharmonic, cellist František Sláma and oboist Stanislav Duchoň.
From 1951 to 1956, Václav Talich collaborated with Ars Rediviva. After Munclinger died in 1986, František Sláma succeeded him in leading the ensemble.

Orchestra, soloists

The band's repertoire consisted largely of chamber music, particularly the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Depending on score requirements, the ensemble's size expanded regularly up to the chamber orchestra, with primarily Czech Philharmonic instrumentalists as members. These groups would often include string players and wind instruments.
Ars Rediviva collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic Choir, Czech singers, and foreign artists, specializing in performances of Baroque and Classical music.

Season performances (1954–1994)

In 1954, the ensemble started giving season performances in Wallenstein Palace, later moving to Rudolfinum. At first, they gave six concerts per year and eventually expanded to twelve. In four decades, several hundred compositions were introduced here, including scores of premiered archive pieces. Live recordings of Ars Rediviva performances in Rudolfinum are deposited in the Czech Museum of Music.

Repertoire, recordings

Ars Rediviva was the first ensemble in Czechoslovakia to record a large number of works by Bach. These included LPs of the complete Brandenburg Concertos, the Art of Fugue, the Musical Offering, trio sonatas, flute sonatas, cantatas, concerto reconstructions, etc. They also recorded the music of Bach's sons, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Philippe Rameau, François Couperin, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Franz Benda, Georg Benda, and others.
The ensemble recorded for Supraphon, Panton, Columbia, Ariola, CBS, Orfeo, Nippon, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, as well as for broadcasting and television companies and film industry.
Jan Tausinger, Ivan Jirko, Ilja Hurník, and other Czech composers dedicated their neoclassical compositions to Ars Rediviva (e.g., Hurník's Sonata da Camera, Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra.

Documents, discography

Other links