''On an Overgrown Path'' () is a cycle of fifteen

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

pieces written by

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 ...

and organized into two volumes.

Background

Janáček composed all his most important works for solo piano between 1900 and 1912.Score, preface, p. III He probably began preparing his first series of

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n folk melodies in 1900. At this time, the cycle had only six pieces, intended for

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

: ''Our evenings'', ''A blown-away leaf'', ''The Frýdek Madonna'', ''Good night!'', ''The barn owl has not flown away!'' and a ''Piu mosso'' published after Janáček’s death.Zahrádka (2009), Preface, P. VIII These melodies provided the basis for the first volume of ''On an Overgrown Path''. Three of these compositions were first published in 1901 with the fifth volume of harmonium pieces, ''Slavic melodies'', under the title ''On an overgrown path – three short compositions''. By 1908 the cycle had grown to nine pieces, and was by then intended for piano instead of harmonium. The definitive version of the first book was published in 1911.Score, preface, p. V On 30 September 1911, Janáček published the first piece of the second series in the ''

Lidové noviny ''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record. It is a national news daily covering po ...

'' newspapers. The new series was created, in its entirety, around 1911. The complete second book was printed by the ''Hudební matice'' in 1942. The première of the work took place on 6 January 1905 at the "Besední dům" Hall in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Structure

Series I # ''Naše večery (Our Evenings)'' (1900) # ''Lístek odvanutý (A Blown-Away Leaf)'' (1900) # ''Pojďte s námi! (Come With Us!)'' (1908) # ''Frýdecká panna Maria (The Madonna of Frydek)'' (1900) # ''Štěbetaly jak laštovičky (They Chattered Like Swallows)'' (1911) # ''Nelze domluvit! (Words Fail!)'' (1908) # ''Dobrou noc! (Good Night!)'' (1900) # ''Tak neskonale úzko (Unutterable Anguish)'' (1911) # ''V pláči (In Tears)'' (1908) # ''Sýček neodletěl! (The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!)'' (1900) Series II # ''Andante'' (1911) # ''Allegretto'' (1911) Series II supplement (paralipomena) — not authorized by the composer for publication # ''Più mosso'' (1900) # ''Vivo'' (1900) # ''Allegro'' (1911)

Earliest version / manuscript

After intensive studies of various sources, the German pianist Lars David Kellner published the first version of the 'overgrown path' on his 2013 Janacek album ('The complete original works for piano'), using the earliest sources for Book I and Janacek's original manuscript for Book II. Kellner also includes this version of the piano cycle in his recitals.

Arrangements

* For violin and piano, by Jan Štědroň, performed by Yuriko Kuronuma, Alfred Holeček * For cello and piano, by Miloš Sádlo, performed by Miloš Sádlo, Alfred Holeček * For cello and piano, by František Smetana, performed by František Smetana, Jiří Hubička * For cymbalom, by Petr Oliva, performed by Petr Oliva * For cymbalom, by Helena Červenková, performed by Helena Červenková * For cymbalom, by Daniel Skála, performed by Daniel Skála * For accordion, by Daniela Wagner, performed by Daniela Wagner * For accordion, by Ivan Koval, performed by Ivan Koval * For accordion, by Teodoro Anzellott, performed by Teodoro Anzellott * For accordion and piano, by Stefan Heucke, performed by Marko Kassl, Tobias Bredohl * For harp, by Chantal Mathieu, performed by Chantal Mathieu * For guitar, by

Martin Bresnick Martin Bresnick (born 1946) is a composer of contemporary classical music, film scores and experimental music. Education and early career Bresnick grew up in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York City's specialized High School of Music and A ...

, performed by Benjamin Verdery * For flute and guitar, by Jiří Jirmal and Miloslav Klaus, performed by Jan Riedlbauch, Miloslav Klaus * For guitar quartet, by David Scarth, performed by York Guitar Quartet, David Ashworth, Andrew Forrest, John Mackenzie, David Scarth * For guitar quartet, by Marek Velemínský, performed by Prague Guitar Quartet * For guitar, keyboard and orchestra, by Jan Hála, performed by Lubomír Brabec, Jan Hála, Karel Vágner Orchestra, conducted by Karel Vágner * For oboe quartet, by Zurich Oboe Quartet, performed by Zurich Oboe Quartet * For wind ensemble, by Ronald Karten, performed by

Netherlands Wind Ensemble The Netherlands Wind Ensemble () is a wind ensemble composed of musicians from major Dutch symphony orchestras. The NBE performs concert series at Amsterdam’s major venues: the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Concertgebouw, Paradiso and the new Muzi ...

* For string quartet, by

Jarmil Burghauser Jarmil Michael Burghauser (born Jarmil Michael Mokrý; 21 October 1921, Písek19 February 1997, Prague) was a Czech composer, conductor, and musicologist. Burghauser's parents were painters František Viktor Mokrý and Zdenka Burghauserová. He st ...

performed by Quartetto Energie Nove * For string orchestra, by Jarmil Burghauser, performed by London Jupiter Orchestra, conducted by Gregory Rose * For chamber orchestra, by Martin Bresnick, performed by the

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its principal concert venue is the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with five artistic partners, the orchestra's musi ...

, conducted by

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...

* For string orchestra, by Daniel Rumier, with texts by Maia Brami, performed by Camerata Zurich, Igor Karsko, director.

In popular culture

Some movements were used in the soundtrack for the 1988 American film ''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' () is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera about two women, two men, a dog, and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the novel was not publ ...

''.

Notes

References

* Program notes by Dr. David Doughty for the two-CD album of Janáček's Piano Works (complete) played by

Håkon Austbø Håkon Austbø (born October 22, 1948) is a Norway, Norwegian European classical music, classical pianist. He has created many recordings for the label Brilliant Classics and Naxos Records, and is also a professor at the Amsterdam music school, co ...

(

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

92295) * Leoš Janáček: ''Po zarostlém chodníčku'' Prague: Editio

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

, 2006. BA 9502. ISMN M-2601-0365-8 * Zahrádka, Jiří (preface): Janáček, Leoš : ''Po zarostlém chodníčku''. Praha: Editio Bärenreiter Urtext, 2009. BA 9502. ISMN 979-0-2601-0461-7

External links

* {{Authority control Piano compositions by Leoš Janáček Compositions for solo piano 1901 compositions 1908 compositions Suites (music)