O Sanctissima, op. 19a, B95B, B95BBis
Opus number
19a
Burghauser catalogue number
95B, 95Bbis
Date of composition
6 September 1879
Premiere - date and place
8 September 1879, Sychrov
Premiere performer(s)
Anna Dvořáková, Alois Göbl, Antonín Dvořák
First edition
Emanuel Starý, 1883, Prague
Text
Liturgical Latin
Duration
approx. 3 min.
This duet for alto and baritone with organ accompaniment is written to the text of a Latin sacred song. Dvořák wrote it on one of his visits to Sychrov castle to see his friend Alois Göbl, to whom the duet is also dedicated. It was performed in the local castle chapel by Gobl and the composer’s wife Anna on Dvořák’s 38th birthday, on 8 September 1879. The duet was first published in 1883 in Prague by Emanuel Stary. Dvořák subsequently wrote an arrangement for soprano and alto in 1890 (B95Bbis), discovered during the 1970s.