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20th Century Classics
20th Century Classics: Leos Janácek
2CD
19 Jan 2009
Barcode: 5099923760622
Composer: Leos Janácek
Other participants: Ian Bostridge, Thomas Adès, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle, Mikhail Rudy, Felicity Palmer, Ameral Gunson, John Mitchinson, Malcolm King, Jane Parker-Smith, CBSO Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Solistes de l'Opéra National de Paris, Philharmonia Orchestra
‘Folk music binds people together, uniting mankind with a spiritual bond of happiness.’ So saying, Janácek effectively declared his artistic credo. But the kind of folk music he was referring to wasn’t the popular ‘gypsy’ melodies of Brahms’s Hungarian Dances, but the indigenous folk music of his native Moravia, which ultimately formed the bedrock of his musical style.
The Sinfonietta (1926) began life as a fanfare written specifically to celebrate the independence of Czechoslovakia via a 1926 gymnastics festival in Prague. Later that year he added the other four movements dedicating the entire work to ‘the free Czech men and women of today’. The outer movements are physically uplifting in their radiant joy, whilst the second and fourth are heavily influenced by Moravian folk music, with its habitual repeated notes and unpredictable, stamping rhythms. In contrast, the central Moderato is essentially lyrical in tone, a mood which the decidedly sinister central section hardly dispels.
Dating from the same year and creative pool is the Glagolitic Mass, an exultant affirmation of the power of love and friendship. ‘In the tenor solo I hear a high priest,’ Janácek explained, ‘in the soprano solo a girlish angel and in the chorus our people.’ Although he had little time for organised religion, Janácek retained the custom of preceding and following the five choral sections with instrumental fanfares, and also includes a solo organ fantasia before the work’s uplifting final section. The fast attack and rate of decay of the piano (when unaided by the sustaining pedal) was particularly conducive to Janácek’s creative thinking, as witness the selection of seven haunting piano miniatures in this collection.
It also explains why when composing his piano Concertino (1925) and Capriccio for the left hand (1926) he chose accompanying ensembles devoted either exclusively to or highlighted by the piquant, pungent timbres of wind instruments. That same angular originality and textural flair illuminates the Violin Sonata (1914–21), whose terrifying emotional changeability was a direct response to the Great War. Similarly, Janácek’s great song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared (1917–19), which features a unique form of vocal writing that he called ‘speech-melody’.
The Sinfonietta (1926) began life as a fanfare written specifically to celebrate the independence of Czechoslovakia via a 1926 gymnastics festival in Prague. Later that year he added the other four movements dedicating the entire work to ‘the free Czech men and women of today’. The outer movements are physically uplifting in their radiant joy, whilst the second and fourth are heavily influenced by Moravian folk music, with its habitual repeated notes and unpredictable, stamping rhythms. In contrast, the central Moderato is essentially lyrical in tone, a mood which the decidedly sinister central section hardly dispels.
Dating from the same year and creative pool is the Glagolitic Mass, an exultant affirmation of the power of love and friendship. ‘In the tenor solo I hear a high priest,’ Janácek explained, ‘in the soprano solo a girlish angel and in the chorus our people.’ Although he had little time for organised religion, Janácek retained the custom of preceding and following the five choral sections with instrumental fanfares, and also includes a solo organ fantasia before the work’s uplifting final section. The fast attack and rate of decay of the piano (when unaided by the sustaining pedal) was particularly conducive to Janácek’s creative thinking, as witness the selection of seven haunting piano miniatures in this collection.
It also explains why when composing his piano Concertino (1925) and Capriccio for the left hand (1926) he chose accompanying ensembles devoted either exclusively to or highlighted by the piquant, pungent timbres of wind instruments. That same angular originality and textural flair illuminates the Violin Sonata (1914–21), whose terrifying emotional changeability was a direct response to the Great War. Similarly, Janácek’s great song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared (1917–19), which features a unique form of vocal writing that he called ‘speech-melody’.
Audio sample & Tracklisting
Disc 1 | |
01 | I. Allegretto: Sinfonietta Op. 60 - Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle |
02 | II. Andante: Sinfonietta Op. 60 - Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle |
03 | III. Moderato: Sinfonietta Op. 60 - Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle |
04 | IV. Allegretto: Sinfonietta Op. 60 - Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle |
05 | V. Andante con moto: Sinfonietta Op. 60 - Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle |
06 | Uvod (Introduction): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
07 | Gospodi pomiluy (Kyrie eleison): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
08 | Slava (Gloria): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
09 | Veruju (Credo): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
10 | Svet (Sanctus): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
11 | Agneoe Bozij (Agnus Dei): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
12 | Organ solo (Postlude): Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
13 | Intrada: Glagolitic Mass - Sir Simon Rattle/City of Birmingham Symphony Orche |
14 | I. Moderato: Concertino - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
15 | II. Più mosso: Concertino - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
16 | III. Con moto: Concertino - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
17 | IV. Allegro: Concertino - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
Disc 2 | |
01 | I. Potkal jsem cigánku (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
02 | II. Ta cerná cigánka (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
03 | III. Svatojánské musky (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
04 | IV. Uz mladé vlastuvky: The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
05 | V. Tezko sa mi ore (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
06 | VI. Hajsi, vy siví volci (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
07 | VII. Ztratil jsem kolícek: The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
08 | VIII. Nehled'te, volecci, tesklivo k úvratím (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
09 | IX. Víta, Janícku (mezzo, tenor & ladies chorus): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
10 | X. Boze, dálný, nesmrtelný (mezzo & ladies chorus): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
11 | XI. Táhne vuna k lesu (tenor & mezzo): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
12 | XII. Tmavá olsinka, chladná studánka (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
13 | XIII. Piano solo: The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
14 | XIV. Slunécko se zdvihá (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
15 | XV. Moji siví volci (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
16 | XVI. Co jsem to udelal (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
17 | XVII. Co komu súzeno (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
18 | XVIII. Nedbám já vcil o nic (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
19 | XIX. Letí straka letí (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
20 | XX. Mám já panenku (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
21 | XXI. Muj drahý tatícku (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
22 | XXII. Sbohem, rodný kraju (tenor): The Diary of One Who Disappeared - Ian Bostridge/Ruby Philogene/Thomas Adès |
23 | Vzpomínka (piano) - Thomas Adès |
24 | Na památku: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
25 | Malostranský palác: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
26 | Moderato: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
27 | Zlatý krouzek: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
28 | Cekam Te!: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
29 | Narodil se Kristus Pán: Posthumous Piano Pieces - Thomas Adès |
30 | I. Con moto: Sonata for violin & piano - Pierre Amoyal/Mikhail Rudy |
31 | II. Ballada - Con moto: Sonata for violin & piano - Pierre Amoyal/Mikhail Rudy |
32 | III. Allegretto: Sonata for violin & piano - Pierre Amoyal/Mikhail Rudy |
33 | IV. Adagio: Sonata for violin & piano - Pierre Amoyal/Mikhail Rudy |
34 | I. Allegro: Capriccio - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
35 | II. Adagio: Capriccio - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
36 | III. Allegretto: Capriccio - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |
37 | IV. Andante: Capriccio - Mikhail Rudy/Solistes de l'Orchestre de l'Opéra Na |