V národním tónu (Op. 73):
I. Dobrú noc, má mila 00:00
II. Žalo dievča, žalo trávu 03:19
III. Ach, není, není tu, co by mě těšilo 05:29
IV. Ej, mám já koňa faku 09:48
Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904) -composer
Lucia Popp -soprano
Geoffrey Parsons -piano
Score: sausage.whatbox.ca:15263/imgln...
Playlist "The art of Czech song: Dvořák, Martinů, Eben, Haas": • The art of Czech song:...
Considering that the composer's ungainly first attempt at song composition (Cypresses, B11 of 1865), the quality of Antonín Dvorák's song cycle, In Folk Tone for voice and piano, Op. 73 (1886), seems nothing short of remarkable: here are four songs that are at once colorful, balanced, and wonderfully expressive beyond the scope of most "folk" works. Three of the Op. 73 songs are settings of Slovak folk poems; the other is in the Czech language. That they should date from 1886 is not at all surprising -- Dvorák had in that same year supplied his hungry publisher with the second volume of Slavonic Dances (the first volume had made his name famous throughout Europe), and it seemed a good idea to mine that same very lucrative vein.
"Dobrú noc" (Good night), the first song, is a gentle love song that occasionally explodes with more passionate sentiment; the falling tritone of the melody is charming. "Zalo dievca, zalo trávu" (When a maiden was mowing) is graceful and absolutely without pretension. The velvety "Ach, není tu" (Nothing can change) is perfectly cast in the warm key of G flat major (this is the lone song in the Czech language), while the unsettled harmonies of the final song, "Ej, mám já kona faku" (I have a faithful mare), allow the loss and deceit of the song's poem to stand out.
Source: www.allmusic.com/composition/i...
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