Czech composer Leos Janácek is most famous outside the Czech Republic for his orchestral works, his string quartets, piano cycles, and operas. But inside the Czech Republic, he is especially revered for his vast number of choral pieces for diverse ensembles. Composed throughout his career, Janácek's choral works have furnished countless Czech choral groups with material. Perhaps the most charming series of choral works are the 18 Nursery Rhymes for Mixed Chorus and Ten Instruments (1925-1927). Late in life, Janácek was happily nostalgic for his youth, and several works from his final years are based on his recollections. He found the texts for the Nursery Rhymes in the illustrated children's section of the Lidove noviny newspaper. He wrote the first eight numbers in 1925 for three mezzo-sopranos and expanded these with ten more in 1927. All the numbers are childlike, but not childish, full of fun and whimsy. As befits a polyglot society, the Nursery Rhymes are in Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian. And as befits a composer who—along with Mussorgsky—was supremely gifted in turning texts into melodies that follow exactly the contours of the spoken word, each is supremely singable. Interestingly, the first number recalls the folk song sung at the opening of the third act of Janácek's great opera Jenufa.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.