''Amarus'' is a
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
composed by
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
composer
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
, consisting of five movements.
It was completed in 1897, having been started after Janáček's visit to Russia the previous summer.
''Amarus'' is a setting of the poem of the same name by
Jaroslav Vrchlický
Jaroslav Vrchlický (; 17 February 1853 – 9 September 1912) was a Czech people, Czech lyrical poet. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel prize in literature eight times.
Life
He was born Emilius Jakob Frida in Louny ...
, which tells the story of a young monk who had been abandoned at birth and brought up in a monastery.
In June 1897, Vrchlický praised Janáček's setting of his poem, commenting: "I am convinced that you have succeeded in it entirely".
The work's premiere was in 1900, but a poor performance meant that it was not performed publicly again until fifteen years later.
References
1897 cantatas
Cantatas by Leoš Janáček
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