Martinu Voices/Pr So/Stilec - Leopold Kozeluch: Cantata for the Coronation of Leopold II, 'Hail to the Monarch'

The coronation of Leopold II in Prague in 1791 came at a difficult time for European monarchs, although Leopold himself enjoyed a reputation as an enlightened ruler. Two musical works were commissioned for the occasion: Mozart�s opera La clemenza di Tito and Ko�eluch�s cantata Heil dem Monarchen. The cantata, by turns celebratory, serene and darkly dramatic, was well received and enhanced Ko�eluch�s reputation in royal circles. It almost certainly played a part in his appointment in 1792 to the court of Leopold�s son and successor, the last Holy Roman Emperor Franz II.