Magazine

A Thousand-year Tradition

Although the Czech Republic is not the largest of countries, it can boast a musical tradition that is more than a thousand years old. Musicians from Bohemia have strongly influenced the development of the European musical arts on at least two separate occasions, which can be considered a great success given the high level of international competition. It is not possible here to present the history of Czech music in detail, so what follows is a brief survey of the most important works and the most successful periods in this history.

The earliest musical work with a Czech text to have survived is the litany "Lord, have mercy upon us" from the tenth or eleventh century A.D. About two hundred years later, the famous hymn "Saint Wenceslas" was written; this work invoked this saint - revered throughout the Czech lands - with the words "Let not ourselves nor our descendants perish." The Hussite war song "Ye Who Are God's Warriors," which dates to around the year 1420, urged the soldiers on with the words "For the Lord ordains not to fear the destruction of flesh, ordains to sacrifice life for the love of fellow men." There are numerous examples of songs for solo voice and chorales that were inspired by historical events, wars and the struggles for religious reform (the Hussites) as well as chivalrous love songs and dance tunes.
Cultural life in the Czech lands was in decline for a long period after the end of the Hussite Wars (fifteenth century) and Renaissance music began to have an impact very slowly. The Czech nobleman Kryštof Harant of Polžice (1564-1621), who was a leading proponent of Renaissance polyphonic music, was beheaded on the Old Town Square in 1621 in the aftermath of the Battle of the White Mountain. Music dating from these periods did not have a major impact beyond the borders and was only a pale reflection, often quite twisted, of developments occurring abroad.
The Thirty Years' War (seventeenth century) was a tremendous trauma for Europe; the population of Bohemia declined disastrously to about one-third of its earlier levels. This catastrophe meant among other things that the beginnings of Baroque music were much later here; nevertheless by the end of the seventeenth century there were several important Baroque composers on the scene. These included Pavel Josef Vejvanovský (1640-1693), a wealthy burgher from the Moravian city of Kroměříž and the Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745), who worked in Dresden. He composed operas and ingenious polyphonic compositions; in fact he was not infrequently referred to as the "Czech Bach." The priest Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský (1684-1742), who would later live in Italy as a widely respected teacher, served at the Monastery and Church of St. James in Prague.

Czech musicians made there first major contribution to the history of Europe during the Classicist period. A major figure was Jan Václav Stamic (1717-1757), a leading representative of the Mannheim School; this group of composers (including Stamic's sons) laid the foundations for Classical music. A second major figure to appear was Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795). He left Bohemia with his parents and became famous as the creator of the first melodramas and successful singspiels. His melodramas Ariadna on Naxos and later Medea were played all across Europe. A large number of composers were born in the Czech lands during the Classicist period, many of whom often worked abroad. They included Josef Mysliveček (Italy), Jan Ladislav Dusík (England, Germany, Russia and France), Antonín Rejcha (France), and Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek (Vienna, Austria). Why did so many artists leave the Czech lands? The ruling court was located in Vienna, where a very wide range of social events took place; the opportunities for musicians in the Czech lands were limited and so they were forced by their poor social situations to go abroad. Bohemia at this time was known for its intensive music making, it was even said: "Bohemia: the conservatory of Europe."

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) is considered to be the founder of Czech national music. He achieved global popularity with his comedic opera The Bartered Bride, which remains successful in major opera houses everywhere. His full-length symphonic tone poem cycle My Country, which was composed during the period when Smetana was losing his hearing, is a unique work. His eight operas, two fabulous string quartets (including "From My Life") and his piano works represent perfectly the ideals of Romantic music. One German theoretician contemporary with Smetana referred to this artist, whose talent far outshone that of his contemporaries, as "a whale in a small pond."

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) remains today the best-known Czech in the world. His Slavonic Dances, symphony "From the New World," cello concertos, "American Quartet," and the opera Rusalka are played every year all around the planet. During his lifetime, he was highly acclaimed in England and the United States, where he served five years as the director of a music school in New York City, as he later did in Prague. The composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900), who composed many operas and symphonic poems, is best known around the world for reinvigorating the genre of the melodrama. He composed the three-evening long melodramatic cycle of plays Hippodamia.

Another famous figure was Leoš Janáček (1854-1928). There was literally an explosion of interest in his opera Jenůfa, which was followed by other operas including Kaťa Kabanová, The Makropulos Case and From the House of the Dead. His works are not only performed in opera houses but also frequently appear in television productions. Among his works performed on the concert stage are the original Symfonietta, the Glagolitic Mass or the tender string quartet "Intimate Letters."

While teaching at the conservatory in Prague, Antonín Dvořák produced among others two students who would become famous in their own rights: Vítězslav Novák (1879-1949) and Josef Suk (1874-1935). Both represented the original voices of musical Impressionism (e.g. Novák's symphonic poem At the Tatra Mountains) and an interest in the mysterious (Suk's symphony Asrael).

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), after having spent the majority of his life abroad (France, Italy, the United States and Switzerland), was not allowed to return home because during the era of Communist totalitarianism he was severely criticized here. His opera The Greek Passion is still played frequently in many cities as are his six symphonies and other works.

The palette of contemporary music is incredibly varied, made up of artists who follow a wide range of New Music styles as well as followers of more traditional forms. Many composers have become famous in the fields of jazz and popular music, film score composition and musicals. It can be stated that all of these musicians are successful both at home and abroad. But it would be premature to judge the present before history has had its say.

Jiří Pilka

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