Introduction to Petr Eben’s (1929–2007) religious works

The text treats about Petr Eben, one of the most outstanding contemporary Czech composers. The introduction points out parallel personality traits as well as biographical similarities between Eben and John Paul II, which also serve as a reference to the title of this publication. Next, the author describes the composer, emphasizing key moments in his life that shaped his strong christian faith and personality. Also, typical characteristics of Eben’s works are synthetically layed out, such as rythm, harmony, melody, color and form. The second part of the publication informs about religious and literature influences on the Czech composer’s work. The author describes the essence of the relationship between word and sound in Ebens pieces and emphasizes how the multitude of them have religious roots. The third part showcases the most important pieces created from religious inspirations as well as means of their classification.