Pohádka (Janáček)
Encyclopedia
Pohádka is a chamber
composition for cello
and piano
by Czech composer Leoš Janáček
.
Pohádka is based on an epic poem by the Russian
author Vasily Zhukovsky
entitled The Tale of Tsar Berendyey which unsurprisingly piqued Janáček's interest in Russian culture. The composition presents scenes from the story rather than being a complete description of the tale.
It was composed at a difficult time for Janáček, following the death of his daughter Olga and when he was still seeking musical recognition. Much of the music is in keys
or modes
with six flats, which gives the music a somewhat veiled quality similar to Janáček's piano work In the Mists
. Several different versions of the piece existed during his lifetime, although only the last is usually performed today. It is his only published composition for the combination of instruments.
The first version of Pohádka was in three movements, marked Introduction-Andante, Con moto, and Con moto. The autograph manuscript is dated 1910 and was not published. The composition was premièred in Brno
on March 13 in Janáček's presence, although it seems that at the time he was intending it to be part of a larger work.
Second version
The second version was in four movements and was first performed in September 1912. Janáček revised the work with the addition of a tranquil finale which also reprised part of the introduction, intended to depict the Tsarina singing a lullaby.
Third version
Janáček's final version returned the piece to a three-movement form which differed little from the original. The Introduction and first movement of the 1912 version are joined together with no separate titles and the last movement is omitted. In addition, Janáček altered many of the rhythms, removed a repeat from the third movement and made other revisions. It was first heard in Brno on March 3, 1923 and subsequently performed in Prague
, Olomouc
and in London
during Janáček's visit there in 1926. This version was published by Hudební Matice Umělecké Besedy in 1924.
.
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
composition for cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by Czech composer Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
.
Pohádka is based on an epic poem by the Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
author Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century...
entitled The Tale of Tsar Berendyey which unsurprisingly piqued Janáček's interest in Russian culture. The composition presents scenes from the story rather than being a complete description of the tale.
It was composed at a difficult time for Janáček, following the death of his daughter Olga and when he was still seeking musical recognition. Much of the music is in keys
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
or modes
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
with six flats, which gives the music a somewhat veiled quality similar to Janáček's piano work In the Mists
In the Mists
In the Mists is a piano cycle by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, the last of his more substantial solo works for the instrument. It was composed in 1912, some years after Janáček had suffered the death of his daughter Olga and while his operas were still being rejected by the Prague opera houses...
. Several different versions of the piece existed during his lifetime, although only the last is usually performed today. It is his only published composition for the combination of instruments.
Versions
First versionThe first version of Pohádka was in three movements, marked Introduction-Andante, Con moto, and Con moto. The autograph manuscript is dated 1910 and was not published. The composition was premièred in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
on March 13 in Janáček's presence, although it seems that at the time he was intending it to be part of a larger work.
Second version
The second version was in four movements and was first performed in September 1912. Janáček revised the work with the addition of a tranquil finale which also reprised part of the introduction, intended to depict the Tsarina singing a lullaby.
Third version
Janáček's final version returned the piece to a three-movement form which differed little from the original. The Introduction and first movement of the 1912 version are joined together with no separate titles and the last movement is omitted. In addition, Janáček altered many of the rhythms, removed a repeat from the third movement and made other revisions. It was first heard in Brno on March 3, 1923 and subsequently performed in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during Janáček's visit there in 1926. This version was published by Hudební Matice Umělecké Besedy in 1924.
Presto
A composition of 172 bars, marked simply Presto, also exists in Janáček's hand on the same paper as the manuscript of Pohádka. No instruments are specified but it is almost certain, given the range and clef of the solo part, that it is for violoncello and piano. The scholar Jaroslav Vogel and others have thus speculated that this movement was intended to be included in the original version of Pohádka, but was removed when the work was revised.In popular culture
A portion of Pohádka was used in the soundtrack to the 1988 film The Unbearable Lightness of BeingThe Unbearable Lightness of Being (film)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1988 American film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. Director Philip Kaufman and screenplay writer Jean-Claude Carrière show Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual life during the Prague Spring of the Communist...
.