The ''Lachian Dances'' (in Czech: ''Lašské tance'') was the first mature work by the
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
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
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 ...
. Originally titled ''Wallachian Dances''
[ H6571p] after the
Moravian Wallachia
Moravian Wallachia (, or simply ''Valašsko''; ) is a mountainous ethnoregion located in the easternmost part of Moravia in the Czech Republic, near the Slovakia, Slovak border, roughly centered on the cities Vsetín, Valašské Meziříčí and ...
region, Janáček later changed the title when the region's name also changed, since it reflects
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
s from that specific area.
Background
Janáček began to compose the first set of instrumental arrangements of folk dances in 1888. The first performance took place on 11 January 1889 in
Olomouc
Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region.
Located on the Morava (rive ...
.
The composition was reworked again in 1925, when Janáček made a new selection and ordering of numbers, including some changes in instrumentation.
The work was printed in 1928, shortly before Janáček's death, by ''Hudební matice'' in Prague.
Structure
The work is split into six separate dances:
Arrangements
# Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
#* arrangement for: wind orchestra
#* arrangement by: Karel Bělohoubek
#* performed by: Czech Army Central Band, co Karel Bělohoubek
# Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
#* arrangement by: Hynek Sluka
#* performed by: Prague Castle Guard and Police Wind Orchestra, co Rudolf Rydval
# Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
#* arrangement by: Karel Bělohoubek, Jaroslav Šíp, Viliam Béreš
#* performed by: Czech Army Central Band, cond.
Vladimír Válek
See also
*
Lach dialects
The Lach dialects, also known as Lachian dialects (, , ), are a group of West Slavic dialects that form a transition between the Polish and Czech language. They are spoken in parts of Czech Silesia, the Hlučín Region, and northeastern Mora ...
References
External links
*
Janáček Lachian Dances with choreography (YouTube)
{{Leoš Janáček
Orchestral compositions by Leoš Janáček
1888 compositions
1925 compositions
Compositions using folk songs