Village Stories

Description

Leos Janacek and the generation younger Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky were major 20th-century composers markedly influenced by folk music, bringing it to bear in their own creations. Janacek and Bartok also keenly devoted to folklore as theoreticians and collected folk songs around the villages. Stravinsky, for his part, was mesmerised by folk rituals. A case in point is Les noces, which in four choreographed scenes depicts Russian wedding customs. Following significant revisions of the instrumentation, the fourth, definitive, version of the piece received its world premiere in 1923 in Paris, as performed by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, to Bronislava Nijinska's choreography. Janacek conceived his Nursery Rhymes at the age of 71, shortly after completing the opera The Makropulous Case. He too made changes to the instrumentation before arriving at a satisfactory form. The second version of the set bears witness to Janacek's being enthralled by Stravinsky's music. The Three Village Scenes for female voices and chamber orchestra feature arrangements of folk tunes Bartok collected in the Zvolen district in today's Slovakia. The set is evidently influenced by Stravinsky's style as well. The three challenging works have been undertaken by Lukas Vasilek conducting the outstanding Prague Philharmonic Choir, which on numerous occasions have displayed its exceptional qualities and a great sense for performing music inspired by folk art. The album links up to the highly acclaimed recording of Bohuslav Martinu's cantatas (Gramophone Editor's Choice, nomination for the BBC Music Magazine Award).