On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, the Prague Philharmonic Choir performed Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass as part of the renowned London music festival BBC Proms. Read the most interesting insights from critics who attended the concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Hearing the text sung idiomatically by the 80 strong professional choristers of the Prague Philharmonic Choir was a revelation – Keith McDonnell, musicomh.com

With all four sections evenly blended, they produced a wonderfully supple and flexible response, from the super-soft start to the Gospodi, pomiluj (Kyrie) to the impassioned cry of “Slavoslavim Te” (We adore Thee) in the following Gloria and superlative intonation in the unaccompanied passages which lead off the Agneče Božij (Agnus Dei). – Alexander Hall, bachtrack.com

Like so much of this composer’s work, his vocal writing is often challenging in the extreme: he asks soloists and chorus to enter vocal lines on exposed high notes, with attack. The effect is often strange — but the element of strain becomes rewardingly eloquent, tying into Janáček’s larger lyricism. – Alastair Macaulay, ft.com

This was the least frenetic of performances and as a result the orchestral playing and choral singing lacked the element of desperation that can sometimes creep into performances, so that even the tricky choral entries were finely done. – Robert Hugill, planethugill.com