''The Wandering of a Little Soul'' ( cs, Putování dušičky) is a
violin concerto by the
Czech composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
Leoš Janáček. The work is also known in English as "Pilgrimage of a Little Soul", "Pilgrimage of a Dear Soul" or simply as "Pilgrimage of the Soul". Nevertheless, the English title adopted in the complete critical edition of the composer's works is "The Wandering of a Little Soul".
Background
Janáček started to write the concerto in 1926, during his visit to England. The work remained unfinished, and today there are three sources containing the body of the composition. None of the manuscripts is dated. The sketched material of the concerto is concentrated in one movement only (12–15 min. duration). The score has a few remarks: p. 29 – inscription "in a human being", p. 30 – "the dear soul inborn in every human being", p. 40 – "eagle", p. 49 – "without the soul until the end", p. 64 – "instruments die out".
In 1927 Janáček abandoned the idea of the concerto and used some of its material in the opera ''
From the House of the Dead'', particularly in the suite. In 1928, the year of his death, Janáček composed also incidental music to ''
Schluck und Jau'', a play by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
dramatist Gerhart Hauptmann, which contains violin solos closely related to motives known from ''The Wandering of a Little Soul''.
Miloš Štědroň and Leoš Faltus reconstructed the composition in 1988. The first performance took place on September 29, 1988 in the
Janáček Theatre
Janáček Theatre ( cs, Janáčkovo divadlo) is an opera house in the city of Brno, Czech Republic. It is the largest of the three theatres serving the National Theatre Brno ("NdB") opera and ballet company, the others being the Mahen and the ...
in
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
, with Jan Stanovský on violin,
Petr Vronský
Petr Vronský (born 1946) is a Czech conductor. From 1983-1991 he conducted the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
The Brno Philharmonic (Czech: ''Filharmonie Brno'') is a Czech orchestra based in Brno, the Czech Republic. Its principal concert venue ...
conducted the
State Philharmonic of Brno.
Even though the concerto remained unfinished, it contains several interesting examples of Janáček’s mature style.
Selected recordings
* Janáček: Wandering of the Little Soul, Sinfonietta... Supraphon 1989 (
Josef Suk Josef Suk may refer to:
* Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935), Czech composer and violinist
* Josef Suk (violinist) (1929–2011), his grandson, Czech violinist and conductor
{{Hndis, Suk, Josef ...
– violin)
* Janáček: Sinfonietta, Violin Concerto... Supraphon 1992 (Ivan Ženatý – violin)
* Janáček: Sinfonietta, Violin Concerto, Taras Bulba, Overture from "From the House of Death" ... Virgin 1992 (
Christian Tetzlaff – violin)
* Janáček: Sinfonietta, Violin Concerto, Suite from "The Cunning Little Vixen"... Arte Nova 1995 (
Christiane Edinger
Christiane Edinger (born 20 March 1945) is a German violinist.
Life
Edinger was born in Potsdam in 1945, the daughter of the pianist and music teacher Gerhard Puchelt. She grew up in Berlin. Her ancestors include the politician and publicist A ...
– violin)
* Berg/Janáček/Hartmann: Violin Concertos... TELDEC 1995 (
Thomas Zehetmair – violin)
* Janáček: Orchestral Works, Volume 2... Chandos 2015 (
James Ehnes – violin)
References
''Putování dušičky''. Ricostituzione critica. Partitura. Editio Supraphon 1997. H 7738
External links
English info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wandering of a Little Soul
Compositions by Leoš Janáček
Janáček
Musical compositions completed by others