The music of
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
has been influenced both by the county's native
Slovak peoples and the music of neighbouring regions. Whilst there are traces of
pre-historic
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
musical instruments, the country has a rich heritage of
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and
mediaeval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
music, and from the 18th century onwards, in particular, musical life was influenced by that of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. In the 19th century, composers such as
Ján Levoslav Bella
Ján Levoslav Bella (German Johann Leopold Bella; 4 September 1843 – 25 May 1936) was a Slovak composer, conductor and music teacher, who wrote in the spirit of the Nationalist Romantic movement of the 19th century. One of the founders ...
began to write
romantic music
Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...
with a Slovak character. In the twentieth century, there were a number of composers who identified with Slovak culture. After the
fall of communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
in 1989–90 the country also began to develop its own
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
scene in Western style.
History of music in Slovakia
The term ''Slovak music'' is slightly confusing; many peoples lived over the ages in the territory now represented by the state of Slovakia, and the history of the region's music is therefore not merely the history of the music of the Slovaks
left, Ejlucka, Luckasiroka, traditional Slovak song.
Earliest times
Bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
s dating from the
Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
(about 3000 BC) have been found in the
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth la ...
region, testifying to the early role of music in the
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic 'Nitra Culture'. Such instruments were produced continuously, albeit with more sophistication, up to the
mediaeval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
period. Other early instruments found include
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s dating back to the
Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
period,
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
s from the 3rd or 4th century AD. Other folk instruments of the region whose early development must remain largely conjectural include the
fujara
The fujara () is a large wind instrument of the tabor pipe class. It originated in central Slovakia as a sophisticated folk shepherd's overtone fipple flute of unique design in the contrabass range.
Ranging from 160 to 200 cm long (5'3" &n ...
and the Slovak versions of
bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
and the
jaw harp. They certainly existed in the 15th century.
The medieval period
From the medieval period onwards writers identify a number of principal streams of music in Slovakia. The principal classifications include church music, folk music, and instrumental music heard in towns and courts. Each of these has of course numerous subsidiary classifications.
Some of the oldest recorded forms of music in Slovakia are
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
song (in
Old Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...
) from the time of
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...
n empire (9th century), from which developed much of the sacred music of later centuries. Latin
plainsong
Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgy, liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in La ...
was also widespread in the region at this early period, especially after the incorporation of Slovakia into the Kingdom of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in 1218. Early
codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
include the 'Nitra Gospels' of c. 1100, and the 'Pray codex' (c. 1195). From the 15th to the 17th centuries,
polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
was practised and developed at many urban centres, including
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
,
Bardejov
Bardejov (; hu, Bártfa, german: Bartfeld, rue, Бардеёв, uk, Бардіїв) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region on a floodplain terrace of the Topľa River, in the hills of the Beskyd Mountains. It ...
,
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...
and
Kežmarok
Kežmarok (german: Kesmark or ; hu, Késmárk, yi, קעזמאַרק, Kezmark, pl, Kieżmark) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River. Prior to World War I, it was in Szepes county in the Kin ...
.
[OMOL, ''Slovakia'']
In 1526 when Slovakia became part of the empire of the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, Bratislava became a coronation city, and this was to greatly influence the development of formal music in the country's towns. In the countryside, folk music developed in a more insular manner in the country's various regions.
Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
As elsewhere in Europe, the Church and the aristocracy became the main patrons of formal music during this period. Church composers were active throughout the country; e.g., in the polyphonic tradition, Andreas Neoman who worked at
Bardejov
Bardejov (; hu, Bártfa, german: Bartfeld, rue, Бардеёв, uk, Бардіїв) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region on a floodplain terrace of the Topľa River, in the hills of the Beskyd Mountains. It ...
and elsewhere in the early 17th century, Ján Šimbracký (d. 1657),
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
at the Protestant church in
Spišské Podhradie
Spišské Podhradie (german: Kirchdrauf, hu, Szepesváralja) is a town in Spiš in the Prešov Region of Slovakia. Its population is around 4,000.
Spišské Podhradie is situated at the foot of the hill of Spiš Castle. It had a Zipser German se ...
, and Samuel Marckfelner (1621–1674), organist at
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...
. In the larger towns, especially in Bratislava, the influence of the Italian
concertante
Sinfonia concertante (; also called ''symphonie concertante'') is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra.Collins: ''Encyclopedia of Music'', William Collins Sons & C ...
style was felt, composers in this vein including Samuel Capricornus (1628–1665) (who eventually became
kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
for a prince of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
), his successor at the Protestant church in Breatislava,
Johann Sigismund Kusser
Johann Sigismund Kusser or Cousser (baptized 13 February 1660 – before 17 November 1727) was a composer born in the Kingdom of Hungary who was active in Germany, France, and Ireland.
Life
The son of Johann Kusser, a Protestant cantor in Press ...
(1626–1696).
By the eighteenth century, Catholic musicians began to take the musical lead over their Protestant colleagues. A highly rated composer was František Xaver Budinský (1676–1727), who appears to have been a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
lay brother and worked in
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' (Trna ...
,
Prešov
Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn language, Rusyn and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros Cou ...
,
Košice
Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
,
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...
, and elsewhere in Slovakia. His compositions include three
symphonies
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
, the earliest known to have been written in Slovakia.
Nineteenth century
In the first half of the 19th century, a national musical tradition began to develop around Slovakia’s impressive folk heritage. Modern Slovak music drew from both classical and folk styles. A key figure who began this fusion is
Ján Levoslav Bella
Ján Levoslav Bella (German Johann Leopold Bella; 4 September 1843 – 25 May 1936) was a Slovak composer, conductor and music teacher, who wrote in the spirit of the Nationalist Romantic movement of the 19th century. One of the founders ...
, born in
Liptovský Mikuláš
Liptovský Mikuláš (; until 1952 ''Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš'', german: Liptau-Sankt-Nikolaus; hu, Liptószentmiklós) is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Bas ...
(1843–1936), a contemporary of
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
and
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...
. Slovak modes and melodies can be heard clearly in his third
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
, as well as in many of his other works. He also wrote the first
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
to be performed in Slovak, ''Kováč Wieland'' (''Wieland the Smith''), written in German in 1880-1890, but premiered in Slovak in Bratislava in 1926.
Modern times
Well-known works from the 20th century include the compositions of
Eugen Suchoň
Eugen Suchoň (September 25, 1908 – August 5, 1993) was one of the most important Slovak composers of the 20th century.
Early life
Eugen Suchoň was born on September 25, 1908 in Pezinok, (Slovakia). His father, Ladislav Suchoň, was an ...
,
Alexander Moyzes
Alexander Moyzes (4 September 1906 – 20 November 1984) was a Slovak neoromantic composer.
Biography
Moyzes was born into a musical family in 1906 at Kláštor pod Znievom, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was the composer and educat ...
,
Alexander Albrecht and the operas of
Ján Cikker
Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovaks, Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak European classical music, classical music. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in Slovakia, the Herder Prize (1966) and th ...
.
The internationally most acknowledged composers of the 21st century are
Vladimír Godár
Vladimír Godár (born 16 March 1956, in Bratislava) is a Slovak classical and film score composer. He is also known for his collaboration with the Czech violinist, singer, and composer Iva Bittová. As an academic, he is a writer, editor, and ...
,
Peter Breiner
Peter Breiner (born July 3, 1957, in Humenné, in former Czechoslovakia, present day Slovakia) is a Slovak pianist, conductor, and composer.
Breiner began to play and study the piano at age four. At age nine, he started to study at the Conser ...
,
Peter Machajdík
Peter Machajdík (born 1 June 1961) is a contemporary Slovakia, Slovak composer, sound and visual artist. He was born and grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia.
In the 1990s, he took part in seminars with Vinko Globokar, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Claren ...
and
Iris Szeghy
Iris Szeghy (born 1956) is a Slovak composer living in Switzerland.
Biography
Iris Szeghy was born in Prešov, Slovakia. She studied piano and composition at the Conservatory in Košice and composition at the Music Academy in Bratislava, she ende ...
. Operatic soprano
Lucia Popp
Lucia Popp (born Lucia Poppová; 12 November 193916 November 1993) was a Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard S ...
was born in
Záhorská Ves
Záhorská Ves (previous name: ''Uhorská Ves''; german: Ungeraiden is a village situated north of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. It is part of the Malacky District and Bratislava Region. The village is located on the Morava river, whi ...
.
Musical ensembles and festivals
Amongst the most significant contemporary orchestral ensembles are the
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
The Slovak Philharmonic or Slovak State Philharmonic (Slovenská filharmónia) is a Slovak symphony orchestra based in Bratislava. Founded in 1949, the orchestra has resided since the 1950s in the Baroque era Reduta Bratislava concert hall constru ...
of Bratislava, the
State Philharmonic Orchestra of Kosice, the
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra ( sk, Symfonický orchester Slovenského rozhlasu, link=no), previously known as Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and CSR Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony radio orchestra based in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Fo ...
, the Slovak Chamber Orchestra (known as the'' Warchalovci'' after their founder
Bohdan Warchal Bohdan Warchal (27 January 1930 in Orlová, Czechoslovakia – 30 December 2000 in Bratislava, Slovakia) was a Slovaks, Slovak violinist, a member of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and founder, chief conductor and soloist of the Slovak Chambe ...
), and the chamber orchestra
Capella Istropolitana
The Cappella Istropolitana is a Slovak chamber orchestra based in Bratislava, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bor ...
. There are opera companies in Bratislava, Košice and
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...
. Music festivals include the annual ''
Bratislava Music Festival The Bratislava Music Festival (''Bratislavské hudobné slávnosti'' in Slovak language, Slovak) is an international Music festival, festival of classical music that takes place annually in the city of Bratislava, Slovakia. It is a major Slovak musi ...
'' (Bratislavské hudobné slávnosti), ''Indian Summer in
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...
''
Levočské babie leto, ''Festival of
Piešťany
Piešťany (; german: Pistyan, hu, Pöstyén, pl, Pieszczany , cs, Píšťany ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best kno ...
'' (Piešťanský festival), one of longest established festivals, dating from 1955, the Konvergencie Chamber Music Festival founded in 1999 by cellist,
Jozef Lupták
Jozef Lupták (born 30 December 1969, Slovakia) is a Slovak cellist and artistic director. He is a performer of classical and contemporary cello repertoire as well as Chassidic and Roma-Gypsy revivalist music in Eastern Europe and is the artist ...
, Music at Fulla (Hudba u Fullu) in Ružomberok founded 2009 by composer
Peter Machajdik, and many others.
See also
*
List of Slovak composers
*
Slovak folk music
Slovakia has an enormous reservoir of folk music. The people of Slovakia tend to designate themselves as the "singing nation". Many musicological studies evidence that Slovak folk music is indigenous and has ancient origins, even in respect to ne ...
*
Slovak popular music Popular music began to replace folk music in Slovakia beginning in the 1950s, when Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia; American jazz, R&B, and rock and roll were popular, alongside waltzes, polkas, and czardas, among other folk forms. By the e ...
*
The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time
The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time is a list of the best album releases issued by Slovak recording artists. As the first such list presented in Slovakia, it was published by '' Nový čas'' daily on 22 September 2007.
The list is entirely ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
How to know that music is your calling
External links
*
Audio clips: Traditional music of Slovakia.Musée d'ethnographie de Genève
The ' ("Geneva Ethnography Museum") is one of the most important ethnographic museums in Switzerland.
History
The MEG, or Geneva Museum of Ethnography, was founded on 25 September 1901, on the initiative of Professor Eugène Pittard (1867-1962), ...
. Accessed November 25, 2010.
Slovak Music Centre (Hudobné Centrum)Slovak Philharmonic OrchestraSlovak Radio Symphony OrchestraCapella IstropolitanaKonvergencie Festival'Indian Summer in Levoca' Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Slovakia
*