I u.C. BERKELEY UBRAkY y%tSd^r\ UC-NRLF B H 440 3Sfl THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA LADISLAV URBAN ^j^^ 3- -^cu^ V^o-o^ ^t^o4. cA ,_ to Wc. i/^fc ^t ^^ ^^^ c f- n j^ OVujtX . AMERICA ,vith consummate art. We found it impossible to realize that this broken voice only two years ago. et of male voices in two groups songs demonstrated by crisp self worthy of being regarded to-day i the chief exponent of Czecho-Slovak folk songs, although he is better known abroad as a concert and operatic bari- tone. Three or four other promising voices made their debut in this recital — Augusta Kupec, Caroline Kozlik and Tilly Ludra. The second singer, with a heavy dramatic voice made a definite contrast with the first, whose voice is that of a light coloraturist's while the third voice, an unusual contralto, showed much latent power and intelligent study. The work of Stevo Stojanovic's pupils showed painstaking scholarly teaching both of violin and piano. Mr. Stoja- JAN HUS HOUSE CHERISHING MUSIC OF CZECHO-SLOVAKIA FOR ITS PEOPLE HERE Under Mr. and Mrs. Francis Pangrac, Neighborhood House Is Keeping Alive the Native Songs— A Concert by the East Side Students — Stevo Stovanovic and Mme. Wetche Also Among the Workers country b ardent patriot, havinpc served two years in the front line trenches in Servia. Mr. Stojanovic faithfully upholds the Old- World standards in his art, and co-op- erates whole-heartedly with Mr. Pangrac in his efforts to establish a fii-st-class violin school, in the manner of the great Sevcik. The gem of the evening was clearly the national anthem "Kde Domov Muj ("0 Home Land Mine"), sang by a sex- tet of young girls who made a profound impression this past season at the Fes- tival of Liberty when they give with- 'Tnrirutcm.ip«iili/ient « Eohetnian Chorale written in the Czech tongue in the ninth century, adding also a cycle of five folk songs both harmonized and conducted by Anna Fuka Pangrac. In this second ef- fort Mme. Pangrac has achieved some- thing of unusual appeal; the voices pour out like one great round voice, delicately shaded and richly colored; the tragedy of Bohemia throbs through the music. Mme. Pangrac is a pianist composer, a singer, but above all an organist. "' w i came upon the Jan Hus House .suddenly. It loomed big, stately hildren. babies, old mothers, young iiothers, push carts and fruit stands. me treaded one's way slowly on the tiect and on the road, stepping over the kippins; ropes and watching for the al- eys and tops, and at the same time liiJt'iiic the flying balls. It was a grand Then out of the darkness loomed the !f 'valls of this Czecho-Slovak Neighbor- M'uil Huuse, a fit monument of the na- lon's pride and hope for her children in :iiis other land — America. One felt the atmosphere at once in the quaint hall, with it.s huge fire place, and in the simple lines of the peasant chairs and tables sometimes touched with gay color. Coming to the East Side this night as a willing martyr — a martyr who would listen to ambitious East Side music tauKht by semi-volunteers to semi-will- int; students at intermittent periods, we had expected some cheap, snappy music mtermlngled with some badly mangled L-ro-l music. We heard neither. While ^M listened to the violin quartets, the [oaiio solos and the vocal sextets, our mind i[irniisciously forgot that this was a re- cital on the East Side for here first-class toailiing methods and accepted musical -tandards certainly prevailed. This music work is under Mr. and Mrs. 1 the first ' Bohemi! the organ as a concert ■ • ■ ntly - take thi: appeari , her American audi- r among the fine or- i of the dav. Mme. Pangrac brings to this work the attitude of her historic university, where she was established till the war forced her into exile in America. She is an uncompromising adherent of classical standards, whether she works in the Conservatoire of Prague or m the East Side Neighborhood House of Czecho Slovakia. Nor are these all the opportunities of- fered by the Neighborhood House in mu- sical education. Mme. Vojackova Wet- che, a pianist of prominence, and also a graduate of the Conservatoire of Prague and well known as the accompanist of .Sevcik, accentuates the classical atmos- phere of the House by adding of the national traits of Bohemia, a joyousness, a bubbling enthusiasm, a he'arted sympathy. To teach here takes time from her crowded caret a pianist, teacher and one of the fai Czecho-Slovak trio (of which Mr. big- also She ponent of the Effa Ellis Perfleld School of Pedagogy sometimes called the New Thought, Theory, Harmony and Composi- With these workers the Jan Hus House is making Americans and musicians of the little Czecho-Slovak children of the East Side. M. B. S. . of the Czecho-Slovak race to the music lovers of America through his Victor records, is perhaps as successful a teacher as a singer. He brings to his work such a warmth, such a definite training, such a system, that success could not fail him, especially in provokes wonder and adm Rarely have we heard anything more delightful than the voice of Arthur Jed- licka in a selection from the Bohemian opera, "The Bartered Bride," by Sme- tana. The voice has a witching timbre, clear and round, and the young singer, interpreted the rollicking yet tender mu- JAN HUS HOU| CZECHO-SLO\ Under Mr. and Mrs Keeping Alive Side Students— Among the W 17 E came upon the Jar • ' » suddenly. It loomed f nd permanent in a swirli: • lildren, babies, old mo i lothers, push carts and ne treaded one's way s[ reet and on the road, stej [ipping ropes and watchij ys and tops, and at t| )dging the flying balls, j^^^ ibel of noise, color and ml^ Then out of the darknes\ (^. g walls of this Czecho-Slovi )od House, a fit monumen 3n's pride and hope for he is other land — America, mosphere at once in the^ ith its huge fire place, and les of the peasant chaii metimes touched with ga Coming to the East Side willing martyr — a mart ;ten to ambitious Eas^ ught by semi-volunteers to semi-\^ ^^'^m^^mmM *i,. g students at intermittent periods, \ .^e ,d expected some cheap, snappy muW^ ACE PADEREWSKI ON THE \aph of the Polish Premier W He Had Handed His Peace Te termingled with some badly mangled od music. We heard neither. While ; listened to the violin quartets, the mo solos and the vocal sextets, our mind iconsciously forgot that this was a re- \\\% '\'e\\\ punoj aABii'puB 'uo'os ■pui3 isodniq q^i^ i^l^j.oaiip Suipap 'p^:^UIId n Su'iA^q' puB s;uauiasi;j8ApB aqi uSis8p'*n^H 3^^ :guiJiq s^ qons 'Jiasi^ui Llli<:j9A9 aUOP OSTB 8ABq T PU^ *SpU8I.IJ to build and subsidize a tion. Mr. rangrac, w^i^ t •tjg'-Q^ 82 uo puGoas aq; -^ -nv uo u8atS aq UIM ;sjt J -nv ui piaq aq o; n^ 'sa JO s^iaoAV aq:^ jo qo^a saoi JO sapXo aajq; jo c^stsuo lBAi:^sa^ i^jnquo;s^lO aq ( -u^' BiuBiQ 3!sni\[ JO l^ .laAa SBU ai %^m adoDS ui i' Eni Gj Abb, RutI to be dram the S( mer, had h ■> i ^ JAN HUS HOU CZECHO-SLO)l Under Mr. and Mrs Keeping Alive Side Students— Among the W niTE came upon the Jai ' ' suddenly. It loomedt nd permanent in a swirli hildren, babies, old mo lothers, push carts and •ne treaded one's way s, :reet and on the road, ste dpping ropes and watchi sys and tops, and at t odging the flying balls, abel of noise, color and mJS Then out of the darknes\ g walls of this Czecho-Slov; 3od House, a fit monumen on's pride and hope for he lis other land — America. :mosphere at once in the!^ ith its huge fire place, and nes of the peasant chaii imetimes touched with ga;' Coming to the East Side willing martyr — a martj sten to ambitious Easi "i }!tgfggirf -***^^: to ught by semi-volunteers to semi-\-^- g students at intermittent periods,\ .^e id expected some cheap, snappy muW- ^-i^^ ». termingled with some badly mangled ^^°"- )od music. We heard neither. While 3 listened to the violin quartets, the ano solos and the vocal sextets, our mind iconsciously forgot that this was a re- iq; :ii3\\'\ punoj aA^q pun 'uo'os pui? ►isodniq ^^l^ ^n^a^iip Sun^ap 'pa^ui-id L(:^ SuiA^q* puB S2[uaui9Si;j8ApB aqi uSis8p'*n^4 9^^ ;^uuiq SB qons j^asi^ui mAisA9 auoD osTB 8ABU T PUB 'spuaiJj 'ACE PADEREWSKI ON THE \^Pt,°? tl»e Polish Premier M He Had Handed His Peace T« build and subsidize a r. rangrac, w^xwj ■yg^"04 82 uo puooas aq; — f -nv uo U8ATS 9q Uiav ;sji J -nv ui ppq 9q o:^ n^ 'sa JO s^iaoAV ^q:^ Jo qo^a saDi JO sBpKo dBii\% JO :;sisuo l^Anse^ y^anquo^s^lO aq | -us" BiuBJQ oisnK JO l^ / .laAa SBU ai l^m adoDs ui e Enj G Abb Rut] to hi dran thes mer, had i: THe ^ '* , ._r j*^ — p- S ' -£ — ?-£= — ! — sogal-lant, JVo7ie o- ther do I want but my awn John j I S^ 15=fc j L ■< ■ <— i^ John will drive me near and far in a covered wa- ^ 5^^ * gon, Covered wa - gon, with four hor- a^P^i ^ ^-^i ^ ^j^j ^g;^ ses^ Heigh-Ho I My dear - est be - lorv - ed John I The Slovak folk-songs contrast with the Czech tunes by a more poetic form, a freer rhythm, and a tendency to introduce church modes/ The story of the world-known dance, the ^ ''Singing is the chief passion of the Slovaks. Nothing will find its way so surely to the heart of the Slovak people as a well-sung song. An old peasant woman once complained to a friend of mine thather son was a useless disappointing fellow. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA SLOVAK LOVE SOJVG ENGLISH VERSION BY A. J. LATHAM 19 Slowly 1. Ah, sinkfromthesJcy,drearsun!Dark-enthehillandplain, 2. Ah, sharp is the hurt I feel, Tom is my soul with love; 3. Gone, gonefrom the sky the sun. Darkening hill and plain. ^ i 3=l=tP= -Ffe= ll^jj ^ — p^- h p. /7\ K ^ N N v^ — fl M^r-J' / ^ f- =^=^ ^s— ^ •j r r 1 , r hold me. Gov - er all my one knmv. Lit - tie sil - ver brief night; Endless will be my TZy\ Let no one be- Sweetheart, you a - 1 Just for this one pain ! dove! pain! ^=F=^r — ^^=T^ r-^ rf"^^ — =W=F ^Vh — ^— — r tp — LA E^=l^ k-^ Polka, Avhich is of Czech origin, seems to be of peculiar interest. '* The Polka was invented about the year 1830, by a country lass in Bo- hemia, who was in service with a citizen in ' What was the matter ? ' inquired my friend ; ' did he drink or would he not work?' 'Oh, no,' said the old woman, 'but nothing will makehim sing. It's a great misfortune.' " Scotus Viator (Seton Watson) : Racial Problems in Hungary. 20 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA a small Bohemian place. The schoolmaster of that little town, happening to witness the per- formance by the girl of the dance, which she had contrived merely for her own amusement, wrote down the tune as she sang it while dancing. The new dance soon found admirers, and in the year 1835 it made its w^ay into Prague, the Bohemian metropolis, where it re- ceived the name Polka, probably on account of the half step occurring in the dance, for the word — pulka — designates Hhe half.' Four years later, in 1839, this tune, which had now become a great favorite in Prague, was carried to Vienna. The Polka now became rapidly known throughout Austria. In 1840 it was danced for the first time at the Odeon in Paris, by Raab, a dancing-master from Prague. Here it found so much favor that it was introduced with astonishing rapidity into the most elegant and fashionable dancing salons and private balls of Paris. From France it spread over all Europe, and even through North America. Celebrated composers wrote new tunes to it." THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 21 Besides the Polka, there is another Czech folk-dance with characteristic wild rhythm: TheFuriant, which means a boasting farmer. Dvorak in his First Symphony introduced this dance, its rhythm only, instead of the usual Scherzo. The most brilliant examples of the Polka and Furiant are those in Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. THE FURIAKT THE ORIGINAL FOLK-TUNE Vivace p^r=^ ^=s=t m ^t=^- It is no wonder that the richness of folk-art was overestimated in Bohemia at the beginning of the last century, and led to an error. Folk-art was confused with nationality in art. A false principle was constructed that '' national art" must be based upon folk-music.^ Thus the ^ Tliis matter was also discussed in America, where some 22 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA imitation of folk-poetry and folk-melodies was approved as the real national art. It is astonish- ing how long this principle, violating the natu- ral law of progress, could endure. Ail works of this feverish would-be-national period belong to history. They live no more, being but imita- tions. There is no room in this brief article for mention of their names or works. ^ Into the artificial edifice, without solid foun- dations, erected by this group of artists, struck a thunderbolt of genius, who tore down their flimsy structure and exposed their false theo- ries. This genius was — Bedfich Smetana, the founder of modern Czech musical art. people saw national American music under the guise of Indian music. Notliing is easier for a composer than to imi- tate the melodies of different nations, preserving their rhyth- mical or melodic mannerisms. Following this method, the American or Czechoslovak national music would be accessi- ble to the composer of any nation ; notice the great number of so called "oriental" compositions of our day. Are they national music of Egypt, East India, or China? ■^ One of the composers belonging to this class was Jan Skroup, whose song Where is my home ? was adopted by the Czechs as the national anthem, more for the words appealing to their sentiment than for the tune. PART II WHY Bohemian music or Czech music or Slovak music or Czechoslovak music? Does there exist any nationality in music? Every nation, with its mother-tongue, its peculiar customs, its distinct mode of life, varies more or less in form of culture from all other nations. The differences of geographical positions, racial inclinations, and inborn tem- per influence all departments of life — even Art. '^ No man can quite emancipate himself from his age and country or produce a model in which the education, the religion, the poli- tics, usages, and arts of his times shall have no share. He cannot wipe out of his work every trace of his thoughts amidst which it grew. Above his will and out of his sight he is neces- sitated by the air he breathes and the idea on which he and his contemporaries live and toil, to share the manner of his times, without knowing what that manner is." (Emerson.) And as a man cannot escape from his own 24 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA people and his own time, so he cannot escape from all peoples and all times. The greater the artist, the more he expresses the Hfe of all man- kind, the more he becomes the universal artist; and strangely enough, the more he becomes the pride of his nation. The world speaks of his work as the representative art of his nation, and discovers in it something that we call ' ' nation- ahty . ' ' In this sense Smetana is the founder of a style which is called "Czech national music." Bedrich Smetana (1824-1 8 84 ) was endowed by nature with a rare gift of musical initiative. While a wee child of five he was already play- ing the violin and composing ; as a poor stu- dent he returned one evening from a concert of chamber music and wrote down a string quar- tet he had heard, because he could not buy a copy of it. Like Beethoven, he lost his hearing in the time of his most intensive period of cre- ation. When deaf and persecuted by the ma- lignity of his enemies, when fate knocked on his door with its iron hand and robbed him of his wife and child, his genius created the great- THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 25 est works. The high spiritual plane of his life as it touched the personal and the accidental is revealed in the charming string quartet ' * From my Life."' "My quartet," says Smetana, "is not merely formal playing with the tones and mo- tifs, to show off the composer's skill ; but it is the real picture of my Ufe. The tone sound- ing for a long time in the Finale is that whis- ^ When Liszt heard this composition in Weimar he remarked : "There is nothing to be said. It is very, very beautiful. We really enjoyed your wonderful quartet." In this con- nection it may be interesting to note the following anecdote about Smetana and Liszt, who were great friends. On one occasion Liszt introduced Smetana to his German friends, who naturally pronounced his name with a wrong accent, as the English would do. Liszt corrected them with a clever musical joke, using two motifs from Beethoven's Leonore and Fidelio overtures ; the first, pointing out the correct ac- cent on the first syllable : i i =»~i ,. .i I J.^^ mH-'. JJTTra Sme-ta-na, Sme-ta-na, Sme-ta-na am I! The other pointing out the wrong accenton the second syllable. N Sme - ta - na 26 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA tling sound of very high pitch, which had pre- ceded my deafness. This Utde tone-picturing I dared to insert in this composition because it was so fateful for me." Smetana always found in the small ensem- ble of chamber music the proper interpreter for expression of his most intimate feelings. Thus the Trio, op. 15,^ was written to the memory of his little daughter, whose death brought to Smetana a great sorrow. Smetana never accommodated his artistic principles to the taste of the public. He was too serious an artist to make a work pleasing to the masses. His eight operas — except The Bartered Bride — had to fight against a wall of misunderstanding; and were victorious, only after many years of dispute, because of their originality and vitality. A real genius, Sme- tana was much ahead of his time. The Bartered Bride'' (1866), Two Widows ^ Trio in G minor, op. 15, for piano, violin, and violoncello. ^ Was performed for the first time in America in 1 909 at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, with great success. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 27 (1874), The Kiss {1^1 e>), The Secret {lS7S), and The DeviPs Wall (1882) represent the highest style of the modern comic operas. Each of these works introduces a charming overture of a pure musical beauty, classical in form. Dalibor (1868), a historical-romantic opera, became a favorite even outside its native land. The story is based upon a Czech folk-legend of the fifteenth century, which tells about a knight, Dalibor, who was a prisoner at the castle in Prague. He begged his jailor for a vioHn to lighten the heavy hours of his captiv- ity. After a time, it is said, he played with such marvelous skill that the people came from far and wide to stand outside the prison walls and listen to the charming music. Likewise the libretto to the festival opera Libussa (188 1), is drawn from the Czech history. This work marks the climax of Smetana's genius, and a knowledge of it is indispensable to the student of Czech musical art. The overture to this opera is a masterpiece of form and festival mode. It begins with a trumpet call, developed in a 28 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Maestoso I eS^Ei / tremendous gradation. Surely this work ought to be heard at least in a concert hall. Considering the technical side, Smetana's works exhibit a great skill in the most prob- lematic combinations of the polyphonic style flowing so naturally, that the hearer does not notice the difiiculties solved with such exquis- ite grace and lightness. The melodies are fresh, original,^ and impressive; and enriched with Smetanian harmonic peculiarities. Speaking of the harmony, I want to disclose this fact, that in his piano sketch, ' ' A Scene from Mac- beth," composed in the year 1859, there was introduced for the first time in the history of musical literature, the whole tone scale: 1 Smetana's inventive power was never exhausted; he was often compared to Mozart. By no means should his melodies be mentioned in relation with Czech folk-song ; the statement about T/ie Bartered Bride that ' ' National melodies and Ra- tional rhythms furnish the chief stock of the work," and that "the overture is a masterly setting of folk-song mate- rial in fugal style ' ' ( The O/iera, vol. ix in The Art of Music) , has to be corrected. There is no trace of Czech folk-song in the whole opera. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 29 i^s i Jjn .X!5 : 3*: :t=P 35^ ?-t^-5 ff As a composer for the piano Smetana left a considerable number of works, especially Pol- kas, which he idealized in a very poetic form. His Polka No. 1, op. 7, was one of Liszt's fa- vorites; the subject of this dance will not be thought devoid of interest in this place: Allegro rommodo Two cycles of piano compositions, of which the first bears the tide Ji^ves, and the other The Bohemian Dances, especially deserve the attention of the pianist. In this later work the 30 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Czech folk-melodies are preserved in very artis- tic and pianistic style. Smetana's best known composition, which is often played at concerts, is his etude By the Seashore^ op. 17, a diffi- cult but very eifecdve piece of music snatch- ing the spell of the Northern Sea.^ In the last period of his creation Smetana ex- pressed his love and admiration for his country and its history in poems in a cycle called My Country^ consisting of six charming symphonic poems : Fysehrad^ the old castle, the seat of the first Bohemian ruler; Vltava, the river of Bo- hemia; Sdrka^ the Bohemian Amazon; From Bohemian Meadows and Woodlands^ an id}dl ; Tabor and Blanik^ which picture in tones the glorious past epoch of the Reformation. With this work the composer reached his goal. No greater tribute to his success is needed than Liszt's exclamation upon hearing of Smetana's death — ''He was a genius!" Anton Dvorak (1841-1904), the bestknown ^ It was composed in Sweden, in 1862, with original title Vid Stranden, Mine af Sverige, while Smetana was a mu- sical director in Goteborg. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 31 Czech composer, was a son of a village butcher. From his early childhood his only passion was music. In spite of many struggles and much suffering, he did not cease to study and work. Music was his consolation , his life. In j ust praise it may be said that the high position of this composer in the musical world is due chiefly to his unparalleled perseverance under his own criticism. To take a full orchestra score of a completed opera and destroy it and then re- write it, was characteristic of Dvorak's method of attaining perfection. This self- teaching ex- plains his temporary experimenting and un- certainty in form. The number of Dvorak's compositions is vast, covering almost all forms of music. His fame began with Slavic Dances^ brilliantly in- strumented, which appealed to the larger pub- lic. Of his five symphonies the last one, From the J\'ew Worlds was composed while Dvorak was teacher of composition at the National Con- servatory of Music in New York, in 1892. To this American period belongs the popular 32 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA String quartet, op. 96, and his most beautiful as well as his last vocal opus, the cycle of The Biblical So??gs, op. 99. Whoever wishes to have a clear idea of Dvorak's genius must study and hear the won- derful symphonic poems from the last period of the composer's life. Here Dvorak, master of classical and absolute music, pays his trib- ute to the modern form of romantic program music with great success. As a composer of piano music, Dvorak could not subdue his em- inent orchestral genius to clavier technique; his piano compositions call for instrumenta- tion. The seventh number from opus 101 has become an extraordinary favorite in America ; it is the celebrated Humoreske. Of his seven operas the most beautiful is Russalka^ which exhibits the best qualities of the author's creative ability. It may be said, however, that all Dvorak's operas are handi- capped by a lack of conciseness. They cannot be compared favorably with Smetana's works in dramatic feeling. The interesting remark THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 33 of Liszt, that ^Svhat Smetana deserved — Dvorak has reaped," should be modified to this extent, that these Czech masters never con- sidered themselves rivals. Each fulfilled his task in his own way, and each appreciated the work of the other. ZdenkoFibich (1850-1900) was the creator of the modern melodramas — recitations with 34 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA music. The first Czech composer who wrote this unusual form was Georg Benda (1722— 1795). His melodramatic compositions, Me- dea, Ariadna on the JVaxos, appeared only two years after Rousseau's melodramatic experi- ments. Benda did not know anything about Rousseau's work and made his melodramas of his own initiative. His technique was essen- tially diiferent from that used later by Beetho- ven in Egmojit, by Schumann in Manfred, and by Fibich in his works. Benda never let his music be performed simultaneously with the recitations, but as an interlude between the short sections of the poetry. One hundred years after Benda, Fibich re- vived melodrama in Bohemia, greatly chang- ing and enriching its technique. Thus his tri- logy, Hippodamia, performed in three even- ings, is the first example in the history of music where the modern orchestra supports contin- uously the recitations of the actors. Fibich pre- pared himself for the great task of writing scenic melodrama by composing many concert melo- THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 35 dramas, of which The Waterman became a fa- vorite in Bohemia . These are very fine specimens of the form so often anathematized by aesthetes. Fibich wrote also six operas in which he proved himself a master of dramatic style. It is a pity that these works are not better known. One of his operas, The Tempest^ takes its sub- ject from Shakespeare's play. 36 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Modern Czech music is represented by the works of Vitezslav Novak (l870), a pupil of Dvorak. He is the greatest unrivaled talent of present Czech musical art. It is necessary to hear only his ocean fantasy, The Storm ^ op. 42, for soli, chorus, and orchestra, to get an idea of his elementary power of creation. The principal theme from The Storm : (Tfp-^-T-^ F^— B=1 —IS 1 ff A i— -^ =i — \^Vi *• - - The magnificent art of interpretation of the Prague and MoravianTeachers inspired Novak to compose male choruses containing very often great difficulties for intonation; as an instance, in the CHRISTMAS LULLABY OP. 37, V Tranquillo motto ^JS_ Sleefi, Lit - tie Christ child, sleep. - g^^ mormora rando THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA S7 A special analysis would be necessary to dis- cover Novak's melodic and harmonic richness in chamber music, piano compositions, and especially in songs. His Fan, op. 43, a poem in tones for piano solo, is one of the most mar- velous works of the modern piano literature. It consists of five parts: Prologue, Mountains, Ocean, Woods, Woman. Simultaneously with Novak came another Czech modernist from Dvoi^ak's class in com- position, Josef Suk (1874), the second violin- ist in the famous Bohemian String Quartet. He is a composer of absolute subjectivity with incHnation to mysticism; a real poet, in both the most complicate symphonic forms and in short piano sketches. He wrote the first com- position made under the suggestion of the great war in Bohemia, his Meditation, op. 35, for string orchestra, in which is heard the prayer from the old St.Wenceslas' Chorale: ''Do not let thy nation perish ! ' ' with a new solemnity of accent. PART III ALTHOUGH the saying, ** Where there is a -^ J^ Czech — there you hear music," may be exaggerated, nevertheless it was the observa- tion of the neighboring nations that the people of Bohemia were from earliest times very fond of music. Richard Wagner, in his novel, The Pilgrimage to Beethoven^ pays high tribute to the Czech performing musicians. He relates in it a story of a young musical enthusiast, who traveled from Paris to Vienna to see Beethoven. In the woods on the Bohemian border he met a group of wandering Czech musicians, who on the road under the blue sky played for him Beethoven's Septet with such profound under- standing that he pronounced their performance of this work the best he ever heard. It was the enthusiasm of a real love for music which accomplished the formation, for instance, of the Associations of the Prague and of the Moravian Teachers of Public Schools, two bodies which perform male choruses a ca- THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 39 pella with ideal interpretation. It is the Czech traditional musicianship which makes the members of these Associations sacrifice their time in exhausting rehearsals in order to secure a perfect result. Wherever they have sung, in France, Belgium, Germany, etc., the Czech Teachers have gone out victorious from the contest. The pedagogical foundation for the educa- tion of Bohemian musicians was laid, when there was established, in the year 1811, the Conservatory of Music of Prague, which is placed now in a beautiful building, called ^'Rudolphinum," in the Old Town, the most ancient borough of the city of Prague.^ This in- stitution has sent into the world a large num- ber of excellent artists. Every leading sym- 1 Pi-ague, the metropolis of Bohemia, preserved its reputa- tion of eminence in musical art. In this town Mozart spent the happiest days of his life. After his fatherland despised its son, Bohemia welcomed the great master with open arms. He was understood by the people among whom he so gladly lived. Prague, the city of antique magnificence, was the place where Don Giovanni was written in order to express the thanks of the great master to his " dearest citizens of Prague," for their ardent reception. 40 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA phony or theatrical orchestra in the world has among its members one or more Czech mu- sicians, pupils of the Prague Conservatory. The violin class especially became famous under the leadership of Otokar Sevcik, very well known among our American students of violin. Jan Kubelik, the celebrated artist, was one of his Czech pupils. From this Conserva- tory came all the members of the Bohemian String Quartet, an ensemble highly esteemed in Europe. Whoever wishes to hear Smetana's,Fibich's, and Dvorak's operas perfectly produced, should visit the National Theatre in Prague, founded in the year 1868, w^here the orches- tra is led under the baton of Karel Kovarovic, a musician of rare power — a real Smetanian conductor. This sketch of Bohemian music would not be complete without mentioning two names of world-famous singers familiar to the Ameri- can public — Emmy Destinn, the dramatic so- prano, and Karel Burian, the tenor, known THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 41 from their appearances at the Metropolitan Opera in Ne\^' York. Madam Destinn inter- prets wonderfully the title roles in Fibich's Sarka; she is unsurpassed as Libussa, and as Milada in Dalibor^ both by Smetana. Burian is delightful as Lukas in The Kiss^ and mag- nificent as Dalibor. CATALOGUE OF PRINCIPAL WORKS OF CZECH MUSIC MASTERS BEDRICH SMETANA Piano Works Six Morceaux caracteristiques. Op. 1. Album Leaves. Op. 2. Trois Polkas de Salon. Op. 7. Trois Polkas poetiques. Op. 8. Sketches. Op. 4 and 5. Three etudes. By the Seashore. Op. 17. Published by Schirmer, New York. Fantasy on Czech Folk-Songs. Rgves. Six morceaux caracteristiques. Bohemian Dances. Chamber Music Trio for piano, violin, and violoncello. G minor. Op. 15. From my Life. A string quartet. E minor. Second string quartet. D minor. From the Homeland. A duo for violin and piano. Symphonic Works Triumph Symphony. E flat major. Richard III (Shakespeare's Richai^) . Op. 1 1 . Wallenstein's Camp (Schiller). Op. 14. Hakon Jarl, Op. 16. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 43 My Fatherland. A cycle of six symphonic poems: (a) Vysehrad. (b) Vltava. (c) Sarka. {d) From Bohemian Meadows and Woodlands. (e) Tabor. 1 An organ arrangement by L. Urban was (/) Blanik. J published by the Gray Co. , New York. Operas The Bartered Bride. Dalibor. Libussa. Two Widows. The Kiss. The Secret. The Devil's Wall. NB. Smetana's very first opera is The Brandeburgers in Bohemia; the last one, Viola^ was left unfinished. ANTONIN DVORAK Piano Works Waltzes. Op. 54. Poetic Impressions. Op. 85. Humoresques. Op. 101. Songs Duos. Op. 38. Gipsy Songs. Op. 55. Biblical Songs. 44 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Chamber Miisic String Quartets : A minor. Op. 16. D minor. Op. 34. E flat major. Op. 51. C major. Op. 6 1 . E major. Op. 80. F major. Op. 96. A flat major. Op. 105. G major. Op. 106. Piano Quartets : D major. Op. 23. E flat major. Op. 8 7. Piano Trios : B flat major. Op. 21. G minor. Op. 26. F minor. Op. 65. Dumky. Op. 90. Quintets : G major. Op. 77. String quartet and doublebass. E flat major. Op. 97. Two violas. A major. Op. 81. String quartet and piano. Serenade. D minor. Op. 44. 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bas- soons, 3 French horns, violoncello, and doublebass. Sonatina. Op. 100. Piano and violin. Sonata. Op. 57 . Piano and violin. Rondo. Op. 94. Violoncello and piano. Bagatelles. Two violins, violoncello, and cabinet organ. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 45 Concertos Op. 33. Piano. Op. 5 3. Violin. Op. 104. Violoncello. Symphonic Works First Symphony. D major. Op. 60. Second Symphony. D minor. Op. 70. Thiixi Symphony. F major. Op. 76. Fourth Symphony. G major. Op. 88. Fifth Symphony, i^rom/Ae New World. Yjimnor. Op. 95. Three Sla\ic Rhapsodies. Op. 45. Slavic Dances. Op. 46 and 47. Legends. Op. 59. Suite. Op. 98. Overtures : My Home. Op. 62. Husitska. Op. 67. In Nature. Op. 9 1 . Carneval. Op. 92. Othello. Op. 93. Symphonic Variations. Op. 78. Symphonic Poems: The Wateraian. Op. 107. The Midday Witch. Op. 108. The Gold Spinning- Wheel. Op. 109. The Dove. Op. 110. Heroic Song. Op. 111. 46 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Operas Dimitrij . Jacobin. Russalka. The Devil's Bride. Oratorios Requiem. St. Ludmila. The Spectre's Bride. The American Flag. Stabat Mater. ZDENKO FIBICH Piano Works Impressions and remembrances. Author's musical diary containing 352 rather short compositions. Painter's Studies. Op. 5 6. Six compositions which mir- ror the composer's admiration for classical paintings. Chamber Music Piano Quartet. E minor. Op. 1 1 . String Quartet. G major. Op. 8. Quintet. E flat major. Op. 42. Piano, violin, violoncello, clarinet, and French horn. Symphonic Works Symphony. E flat major. Op. 3. Symphony. F major. Op. 17. Symphony. E minor. Op. 53. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 47 Symphonic poems : Othello. Zaboj, Slavoj a Ludek. Toman. The Tempest. The Spring. At Evening. Concert Melodramas The Christmas Eve. Op. 9. The Revenge of Flowers. Eternity. Op. 14. The Waterman. Op. 15. Queen Emma. Hacon. Op. 30. Scenic Melodramas Hippodamia: Part I. The Wooing of Pelops. Op. 3 1 . Part 11. The Atonement of Tantalus. Op. 32. Part III. The Death of Hippodamia. Op. 33. Operas The Tempest (1894). Hedy (1895). The Bride of Messina (1883). Sarka (1897). Helga and Dargun (1898). 48 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA JOSEF SUK Piano Works Fantaisie Polonaise. Op. 5. Piano Works. Op. 7. Poetic Impressions. Op. 10. Piano Works. Op. 12. Suite. Op. 21. The Spring. Op. 22 a. Summer Impressions. Op. 22 b. Life and Dreams. Op. 30. Chamber Music Piano Quartet. C major, Op. 1, and A major, Op. 2, Quintet. G minor. Op. 8. Quartet. B flat major. Op. 11. Symphonic Works Symphony. E major. Op. 15. Symphony. C mxinor. Op. 27. Serenade. Op. 6, String orchestra. A Fairy Tale. Op. 16. Fantasy. Op. 24. Violin solo and orchestra. Praga. Op. 26. » Asrael. Op. 27. A Tale of Summer. Op. 29. Meditation. Op. 35. THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA 49 ViTEZSLAV NOVAK Piano Works Remembrances. Op. 6. Serenades. Op. 9. Barcarolles. Op. 10. Eclogues. Op. 1 1 . At Twilight. Op. 13. Bohemian Dances. Op. 15. Sonata Eroica. Op. 24, Songs of Winter Nights. Op. 30. Two Moravian Dances (from Wallachia). Op. 34. Pan. Op. 43. Exoticon. Op. 45. Songs Melancholy. Op. 25. Six songs. Melancholic Songs of Love. Op. 30. The Valley of a New Kingdom. Op. 31. Twenty-five Slovak Folk-Songs. Eight Nocturnes. Op. 39. Eroticon. Op. 46. Chamber Miisic Quintet. A minor. Op. 1 5 . Piano, two violins, viola, and violoncello. Trio quasi una ballata. Op. 27. Piano, violin, and vio- loncello. String quartet. D major. Op. 35. 50 THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA Symphonic Works In Tatra Mountains. Op. 26. Slovak Suite. Op. 32. Eternal Desire. Op. 33. Orchestral and Vocal The Storm. Op. 42. The Wedding Shirt. Operas The Little Demon. Karlstejn. Note : The most valuable collections of Czechoslovak folk- songs^ especially those of Vitezslav Novak (Slovak Songs) and of V. J. Novotmy (Libicke pisne) , may be found at the Webster Branch of the New Fork Public Library. J ETURN MUSIC LIBRARY Oh^ 240 Morrison Hall 642-2623 2(^i^mER 2 3 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS DUE AS STAMPED BELOW DEC 18 1985 cr. c 2 o ^: — ' .-\j DRM NO. DD 21, 12m, 6'76 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720 '■.r^y^'WT. :s^.mm ML3590.U861 C037428986 U C BERKELEY LIBRARIES CD37MEfi^flb DATE DUE Music Library University of California at Berkeley