Rihovsky
  • I am a non-musical person that was introduced to this type of music by David Lang and Fr Franklyn McAfee at St John the Beloved Parish in McLean, VA (a suburb of Wash DC in the Arlington Dioceses). The noon Mass is mostly a High Mass. The music is provided by David Lang with the St Gregory Choir (We often find Richard Rice in the choir and contributing his composing talents as well). Anyway, I'm at a point now where I am appreciating the music within the liturgy and not just by itself. The musical performances are works of art, but to here them in the setting for which they were written is a treat. It is a wonderful education every week to learn new composers and hear pieces that would never be played on the radio. My question concerns the composer Rihovsky (1871-1950). His Missa Brevis was performed (I don't know the catalog number) this past Sunday, but I cannot find much info on him. Our Missal program has him listed as Adalbert Rihovsky, but a quick search revealed another (Vojtech Rihovsky) with the same birth/death. The music was beautiful, and the style aped the older masters. I would be pleased if anyone could add (fill in the blanks, really) to the dearth of info I encountered on the web.
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    From Grove Music Online (the goto academic music encyclopedia):

    Říhovský, Vojtěch [Adalbert]
    (b Dub na Moravě, Moravia, 21 April 1871; d Prague, 15 Sept 1950). Czech composer. Between 1887 and 1892 he studied in Prague at the Organ School, the Jan Ludvík Lukes Singing Institute and the Arnošt Černý Music Institute. He then assisted the choir in his home town (where his father was teacher and choirmaster from 1892 to 1902), and directed the choirs in Chrudim (1902–14) and at St Ludmila, Prague-Vinohrady (1914–36). His activities also included performing (viola, violin and piano), directing the choir at the archbishop’s seminary, acting as adviser to the Prague music publishing house of Mojmír Urbánek (from 1902) and contributing to the Prague periodicals Dalibor (which in 1920 he edited with Jaromír Borecký) and Cyril. His short compositions were printed as supplements to the journals Hudební květy and Česká hudba. He also played a part in the Cecilian Movement, which aimed at a revival of Catholic church music.

    For the most part Říhovský composed sacred music, producing almost 300 pieces in this field. The style is basically Romantic; the melodic invention and the refined polyphony do not depart from the norms established for liturgical music. His Christmas carols and organ compositions show the effect on his work of folksong, mainly in a stylized manner (e.g. the Praktický varhaník, or ‘Practical Organist’, Vánoční preludia, ‘Christmas Prelude’, for organ). In the sphere of secular music he wrote principally short vocal and instrumental pieces. Even in these he remained within the bounds of late Romanticism, and his style, affected by commercial demand, is sometimes eclectic. His educational works were important in their time.

    Works (selective list):

    Sacred vocal: Cyrilmetodějská mše [Cyril and Methodius Mass], op.2; Missa loretta, op.3; Missa jubilaei solemnis, op.33; Missa pastoralis, op.48; Missa Sanctae Ludmilae, op.68; Missa Beatae Mariae de Lourdes, op.92; 31 other masses, 5 requiems, 50 graduals, 50 offertories, 11 litanies, 7 Te Deum, 120 Pange lingua etc.
    Secular vocal: 5 Pieces, op.10, female chorus; 3 Lyric Songs, op.30, chorus; Balada o starém hradě [Ballad of the Old Castle], op.37, male chorus
    Chbr: Pohádka [Fairy Tale], op.51, pf trio
    Pf: Pieces, op.6; Prosté motivy [Simple Motifs], op.23; Taneční motivy [Dance Motifs], op.52; Po různých stezkách [On Diverse Paths], op.60
    Org: Praktický varhaník [Practical Organist], op.26; Vánoční preludia [Christmas Prelude], op.69; Kniha preludií [Book of Preludes], opp.81, 122
    Educational: Malý Paganini [Young Paganini], vn, op.8; Album pro mládež [Albums for the Young], opp.22, 28, pf; Nálady [Moods], op.39, 4 vn; Sonatinas, op.50, pf; Studies, op.73, pf; Concertino, op.87, vn
    Principal publishers: Česká hudba, Promberger (Olomouc), Mojmír Urbánek (Prague)
  • The Missa Brevis et facilis, Op. 32? If so, Hössl has that. Look like a nice piece, with a lot more going for it than the typical late-19th c. simple mass.