Today, Ryba’s Christmas mass once again resounded at Prague’s main station
Update: 23/12/2022 15:25
Issued by: 23/12/2022, 15:25
Prague – The Czech Christmas Mass by Jakub Jan Ryba was heard today for the 22nd time at the main railway station in Prague. The meeting, called Rybovka na hlaváku, took place after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and people tuned in to the festive atmosphere. As in previous years, professional musicians and choristers, as well as amateurs who joined the venue, were joined by conductor and organizer Lukáš Prchal. People can listen to Ryba’s mass at Christmas in other places as well.
The orchestra and the singing of soloists Tamara Morozová, Tereza Papoušková, Martin Šrejma and Lukáš Hynk Krämer were listened to admiringly by the completely filled station hall. Most of the listeners arrived purposefully, another concert unexpectedly made waiting for the train more pleasant. Some interested parties watched the orchestra from the upper floor of the bookstore, which is in the middle of the station’s check-in hall. Among the participants were also families with children who are on vacation. The foreigners present probably had no idea that this was a traditional Christmas event, but many of them were thrilled by the melody.
At the end of the concert, the well-known carol Narodil se Christus Pán was born, and the audience rewarded the musicians, singers, and especially the conductor with thunderous applause.
“Originally it started with us playing for the homeless and pigeons, today it’s more of a mass event, which I think a lot of people look forward to regularly every year,” he told ČTK about the beginnings of the Prchal event.
Just as Ryb’s mass was heard through the Prague railway station today, it was heard in the hall of the Královopolska railway station in Brno on Sunday. This afternoon, musicians and singers gathered for “Rybovce” also at Kampa under the Charles Bridge.
Ryba’s Christmas Mass was sung for the first time on Christmas 1796 in the Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Rožmitál pod Třemšín, where Ryba worked as a teacher. His mass gained popularity in the first half of the 19th century, when, according to historians, it was played mainly on rural musical choirs from countless copies and almost became popular.