Carl Loewe fashioned his 1841 oratorio about the Bohemian theologian Jan (or Johann) Hus (or Huss) as a kind of ‘opera without a scene’. A good 100 years before the rise to prominence of religious reformer Martin Luther, Hus had taken a hard stance on the official church and was burned at the stake on 6 July 1415 in Constance, following his condemnation by the council.

Based on a libretto by August Zeune, Carl Loewe’s Jan Hus premiered on 16 December 1841 in a performance by the Berliner Singakademie. This rarely performed work, surely deserving of more attention, is now finally available with this world-premiere recording by the Arcis Vocalisten and the Baroque Orchestra L’arpa festante conducted by Thomas Gropper.

Cast:
- Sofia, Barbara: Monika Mauch (soprano)
- Zigeunerin: Ulrike Malotta (alto)
- Huss: Georg Poplutz (tenor)
- Wenzel, Chlum, Siegmund, Bischof von Lübeck, Bischof von Florenz Hieronymus: Dominik Wörner (bass)
- Hirte: Thomas Gropper (bass)