I Penitenti al Sepolchro del Redentore was first performed on Good Friday 1736. Stefano Pallavicini’s libretto presents the Old Testament hero King David, St Peter and Mary Magdalene convening at the tomb of Jesus to mourn and contemplate his sacrifice for their sins. Any listeners who have dabbled with recordings of Zelenka’s liturgical music and oratorios will not be surprised to discover that this is imaginative music, which often has quirky and unpredictable passages: the solemn sinfonia that commences the oratorio is downright weird in its passionate juxtaposition of mournful flutes and angular string motifs. Václav Luks and his Czech group Collegium 1704 clearly have an affinity for the Bohemian-born composer’s extraordinary music. The drama is slow-moving and contemplative but there is no shortage of dramatic tension and startling musical features in Zelenka’s astonishing sequence of arias. David’s anguished declaration for Zion to tear its hair and smite its breast in grief (“Squarcia le chiome”) is ardently portrayed by tenor Eric Stoklossa, whereas Mary Magdalene’s softer and more elegant arias are beautifully sung by Mariana Rewerski. Peter’s remorseful “Lingua perfida”, in which he bitterly laments the evil of his “prefidious tongue”, is passionately sung by Tobias Berndt. The choir contributes only an eloquent contrapuntal “Miserere” at the conclusion of the oratorio. The orchestra has conviction and skill, especially its plaintive oboes, delicate flutes and disciplined string playing, so it is a pity that the boomy acoustic of the Troja Castle in Prague swamps the sound recording with slurry reverberation.