Leoš Janáček

Mixed Choruses

Works for choir are represented in the œuvre of Leoš Janácek (1854-1928) from his beginnings as a composer until almost the last days of his life. Already in his youth he was intensively involved as a choral director in Brno – as successor to Pavel Krížkovský with the Augustinian church choir, later with the choir of the Svatopluk tradesmen’s association and with the Beseda Philharmonic Society.

This volume contains five mixed choruses from the years 1877-1890. Some of these are more of an occasional composition due to the specific event for which they were written such as the "Festive Chorus" for the laying of the foundation stone of the teachers' institute, while other pieces, for example "The Wild Duck" for aspiring singers, already show the future master, who unmistakably draws on folk poetry. The six "Hukvaldy Songs", which Janácek selected from his collection of songs for voice and piano "Hukvaldy Folk Poetry in Songs" (1898) and adapted for choir (1899), also belong to the latter group of works.