Did Zelenka ever write music for the keyboard?
A. Not as far as we know. Zelenka was primarily a violone player (“contrabassist”). Fortunately, he kept an inventory of his own compositions and those of others that were available as scores in Dresden. It is possible that only those of his own works he considered to be mature were listed. This source shows no keyboard music. There does not appear to have been a strong tradition of composing music for the keyboard in Dresden. Zelenka’s working life before he left Prague for Dresden (at about thirty years of age) is largely unknown. It is not impossible that he composed music for the cembalo (or organ) during that period.
A. Not as far as we know. Zelenka was primarily a violone player (“contrabassist”). He kept an inventory (Inventarium) of his own church music compositions and those of others that were available as scores in Dresden, but these do not list any of his instrumental compositions. There does not appear to have been a strong tradition of composing music for the keyboard in Dresden. Zelenka’s working life before he left Prague for Dresden (at about thirty years of age) is largely unknown. It is not impossible that he composed music for the cembalo (or organ) during that period.
