''Pohádka'' (traditionally translated as ''Fairy Tale'', or more literally from the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: ''A Tale'') is a chamber composition for

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

composer

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

. ''Pohádka'' is based on an epic poem by the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

author

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the Grand Duchess Alexan ...

entitled ''The Tale of Tsar Berendyey'' ('), which unsurprisingly piqued Janáček's interest in Russian culture. The composition presents scenes from the story rather than being a complete description of the tale. It was composed at a difficult time for Janáček, following the death of his daughter Olga and when he was still seeking musical recognition. Much of the music is in

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

modes Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

with six

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...

, which gives the music a somewhat veiled quality similar to Janáček's piano work ''

In the Mists ''In the Mists'' () is a piano cycle by Czech composer Leoš Janáček, the last of his more substantial solo works for the instrument. It was composed in 1912, some years after Janáček had suffered the death of his daughter Olga and while his ...

''. Several different versions of the piece existed during his lifetime, although only the last is usually performed today. It is his only published composition for this combination of instruments.

Versions

;First version The first version of ''Pohádka'' was in three movements, marked ''Introduction-Andante, Con moto'', and ''Con moto''. The autograph manuscript is dated 1910 and was not published. The composition was premièred in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

on 13 March in Janáček's presence, although it seems that at the time he was intending it to be part of a larger work. ;Second version The second version was in four movements and was first performed in September 1912. Janáček revised the work with the addition of a tranquil finale which also reprised part of the introduction, intended to depict the Tsarina singing a lullaby. ;Third version Janáček's final version returned the piece to a three-movement form which differed little from the original. The Introduction and first movement of the 1912 version are joined with no separate titles and the last movement is omitted. In addition, Janáček altered many of the rhythms, removed a repeat from the third movement and made other revisions. It was first heard in Brno on 3 March 1923 and subsequently performed in Prague,

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

and in London during Janáček's visit there in 1926.Jiří Zahrádka trans. Gerald Turner, preface to ''Leoš Janáček: Skladby pro violoncello a klavír'' Prague: Editio Bärenrieter Urtext, 2007. BA 9509. ISMN 979-0-2601-0384-9 This version was published by Hudební Matice Umělecké Besedy in 1924.

''Presto''

A composition of 172 bars, marked simply ''Presto'', also exists in Janáček's hand on the same paper as the manuscript of ''Pohádka''. No instruments are specified but it is almost certain, given the range and clef of the solo part, that it is for violoncello and piano. The scholar Jaroslav Vogel and others have thus speculated that this movement was intended to be included in the original version of ''Pohádka'', but was removed when the work was revised.

In popular culture

A portion of ''Pohádka'' was used in the soundtrack to the 1988 film ''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' () is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera about two women, two men, a dog, and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the novel was not publ ...

'' and also in ''

The Discovery of Heaven ''The Discovery of Heaven'' () is a 1992 novel by Dutch writer Harry Mulisch. It is considered Mulisch's masterpiece and was voted best book in the Dutch language in a 2007 poll among the readers of ''NRC Handelsblad''. A 2001 film adaptation by ...

'' from 2001 (based on the book of the same name by ''

Harry Mulisch Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch (; 29 July 192730 October 2010) was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into 38 languages so far. Along with Willem Fre ...

'').

Arrangements

# Arrangement suitable for: cello and piano #* arrangement for: double bass and piano #* arrangement by: Markus Symhoven #* performed by: double bass Markus Symhoven, piano Jürgen Raberg # Arrangement suitable for: cello and piano #* arrangement for: #* arrangement by: David J. Grossman #* performed by: cellist David J. Grossman, piano Steven Beck

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pohadka (Janacek) Chamber music by Leoš Janáček Compositions for cello and piano 1910 compositions 1912 compositions 1923 compositions