17th Workshop of the Czech Handel Society

Saturday 3 October 2015

Township Nové Dvory near Kutná Hora - Stately Home Kačina
(Czech Republic)

Programme:

Count Chotek's Concerts with Music of George Frideric Handel
at the Stately Home Nové Dvory, near Kutná Hora, in 1815.
A Bicentennial

9.00 - 11.00 Presentation in the Township Hall at Nové Dvory; explanation of the history of the township, followed by a sightseeing tour (Olga Stehlíková). Participation free.
11.00 - 13.00 Midday meal in the restaurant 'U Hájků' at the square of Nové Dvory. Preferred shall be those travelling by the special coach.
13.00 - 14.30 Lecture on the theme of the workshop in the classroom No. 36 at the Stately Home of Nové Dvory (Pavel Polka); as an introduction, singer Slávka Tyrkasová will appear, accompanied on the piano by Karolína Jeřábková: aria 'Lascia ch'io pianga' from Handel's opera 'Rinaldo', HWV 7a (22), and aria 'Oh! had I Jubal's lyre' from Handel's oratorio 'Joshua', HWV 64 (38); the lecture, moderated by 'Count Johann Rudolf Chotek', will be concluded by listening to a CD with Handel's 'Utrecht Jubilate', HWV 279. Admission free.
15.00 - 15.45 Tour of the main building of the Stately Home Kačina [Katschina] with 'Count Johann Rudolf Chotek'. Admission fee: 100/70 Czech crowns.
16.00 - 16.45 Recital of lutenist Milan Černý on the theorbo at the theatre of the Stately Home Kačina - suites by Robert de Visée (c.1655-1732/1733). Admission free.
17.00 - 17.30 Tour of the library of the Stately Home Kačina with 'Count Johann Rudolf Chotek'. Admission free.

The concerts figuring in the title of the workshop, mentioned several times in specialized literature, were given at the stately home Nové Dvory [Neuhof] near Kutná Hora [Kuttenberg], thanks to Johann Nepomuk Rudolf Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1748-1824), on 23 September and 12 October 1815, and among works by other composers there was performed music by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The first concert, on 23 September 1815, probably featured Handel's Chandos Anthem No. I 'O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands!', HWV 246, or - more probably - Handel's 'Utrecht Jubilate', HWV 279. The second concert took place on 12 October 1815 and included an unspecified chorus by Handel.

The workshop is also dedicated
to the 330th anniversary of the birth of George Frideric Handel
and to the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Czech Handel Society

SPECIAL COACH FROM PRAGUE

to the workshop venues and back:

Departure from Prague (underground station 'Černý Most') on Saturday 3 October 2015 at 8.00. Arrival at Nové Dvory. Transfer from Nové Dvory to the Stately Home Kačina. 17.45 departure from the Stately Home Kačina back for Prague (underground station 'Černý Most').
Price of return ticket per person: 300 Czech crowns.
Seats can be booked by phone at +420-220197350 (usually on working days 9.00-16.00) and +420-266712203 (with answering machine), or by e-mail at 'info@haendel.cz'.

Workshop organizers:

The Czech Handel Society
The Township of Nové Dvory near Kutná Hora
The Association of Czech Bibliophiles
The Museum of Czech Countryside - Stately Home Kačina

Tomáš Just (b. 1962): Johann Nepomuk Rudolf Count Chotek of Chotkow and Wognin (1748-1824). Pencil drawing on paper from 1996 after an oil painting by an unknown Viennese master, c. 1810 (Stately Home Veltrusy, Czech Republic; inv.no.: VE 3488). Height: 15.8 cm. Collection of the drawing's author, Prague, Czech Republic.

  

Township Nové Dvory near Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, 15 May 2015. View of a part of the stately home with St Martin's Church. Photographed by Petr Tylínek, ordinary member of the Czech Handel Society.

A set of photographs from the Workshop as it was held