Janacek, ‘Ukvaldská lidová poezie’

Ukvaldská lidová poezie; ríkadla; Capriccio

Jaroslav Hromádka, Josef Válka, Ludvík Kundera, Bretislav Bakala (Supraphon)

A re-release of an important early recording, this collection lets one hear Janacek’s interest in folk music informing and then being sublimated into his style. The voice-and-piano “Ukvaldská lidová poezie” (“Folk Poetry of Hukvaldy”) dates from 1898, the height of Janacek’s folklorist career; the “Ríkadla” (“Nursery Rhymes”), for chorus and chamber ensemble, from some 30 years later, Janacek in a nostalgic but more idiosyncratic mood. The 1926 “Capriccio,” in turn, is one of Janacek’s more unusual (thus more representative) works. The performances and sound quality are more than 60 years old, but the close temporal connection to Janacek’s life and milieu makes them worthwhile.

Pianist Ludvík Kundera and conductor Bretislav Bakala were Janacek’s students — Bakala conducted or played several Janacek premieres and recorded most major works; Kundera wrote books on Janacek’s music. Their recording of the “Capriccio” was the first of a compellingly contradictory piece. The highly unorthodox ensemble — left-hand piano solo, flute, two trumpets, three trombones, and tuba — is both sui generis and surprisingly lithe. The published title seems at odds with Janacek’s preference, “Vzdor” (“Defiance”), but the music reflects both: elegantly fraught. The piece epitomizes Janacek’s characteristic spirit: unfamiliar but assured, utterly singular music that ends up feeling less strange and more like the first glimpse of a vast, unexplored stylistic landscape.