Moravian Folk Songs

Large-scale works such as his Glagolitic Mass, Sinfonietta and mature operas brought him worldwide fame, yet Leoš Janáček’s folk-based works have remained relatively little known, even though traditional songs pulsate in the very heart of his music. It is the collections of Moravian and Hukvaldy Folk Poetry in Songs however that contains the most beautiful of these songs. Furnishing them with congenial piano accompaniments, Janáček otherwise left the songs in their pure form. The focus is on the purity of folk songs, reflecting simple directness and enchanting poetics.