Dvořák’s Svatební košile (The Spectre’s Bride) is a dramatic cantata for three soloists, chorus and orchestra.  It tells the story of a pious young woman  who is surprised while praying by her thought-to-be-lost fiancé.  He takes her on a breakneck journey during which he progressively divests her of her prayer book, rosary and cross.  She’s a bit slow to catch on but when he invites her to join him in a graveyard she decides to make her escape.  Her place of refuge turns out to be a morgue with a fresh corpse in it.  The inhabitants of the graveyard call on the corpse to open the door and give the girl up but just in time she remembers to pray to the Virgin and a chorus of cocks announce the dawn driving the dead back into their graves.  It just needs Vincent Price or Christopher Lee!  Musically it’s very Dvořák; skilful high Romanticism with some folky touches, especially in the vocal writing.  It lasts about eighty minutes and it’s well worth hearing.

It’s been recorded recently by the Prague Philharmonic and the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno conducted by Petr Altrichter.  The soloists are soprano Veronika Rovná, who plays the maiden; tenor Richard Samek, singing the spectre, and baritone Roman Janál who, along with the chorus, is a sort of narrator.  They are all very good.  Rovná has sweet, clean high notes and is solid throughout with an especially lovely prayer to the Virgin near the end.  She can also produce some interesting colours.  Samek is very smooth and has all the notes.  Janál has a very Slavic sound and is appropriately dramatic with a pleasing touch of folkiness.  The orchestra and chorus are also excellent.

The recording was made in Smetana Hall at the Municipal House in Prague in November 2024 and January 2025 and it’s very natural with a wide dynamic range and a solid sound stage (at least in the hi-res version).  It’s a digital only release available as lossless 96kHz/24bit or 44.1kHz/16 bit or as MP3.  As is usual with this label there’s no booklet but the album has it’s own web page with bios etc and the full text and translation.

Catalogue information: Navona Records NV6795