An Easter Symphony from the Czech Composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster

Josef Bohuslav Foerster

Josef Bohuslav Foerster (1859-1951) is not a name that has appeared here before. Among composers, he is not as well known as his Czech forebears Bedřich Smetana and Antonin Dvořák, or even his younger contemporary Otakar Ostrčil, who like Foerster had evolved Czech music in the direction of late Romanticism.

Even so, Foerster's music is well constructed and highly enjoyable, and today we have what I believe to be the only recording of his best-known work, the Symphony No. 4 in C minor, the "Easter" symphony.

The composer began work on the symphony on Good Friday, 1904, and soon began to incorporate Easter themes in his work. Foerster himself said that the first two movements reflected meditations on Easter as seen by a child and an adult, with the third movement a prayer, and the fourth a celebration of the Resurrection. However, the subtitle "Easter" was dropped upon publication, although it is generally designated as such today.

The symphony is in the Czech lineage, with the influence of Dvořák evident but with traces of Mahler in the final movement, including the ending, which is reminiscent of Mahler's first symphony. Foerster was a friend of the German composer, and the symphony was composed in part in Vienna, where Mahler was director of the Imperial Opera. Foerster's wife, Berta Foersterová-Lautererová, was among the singers at the Opera.

Václav Smetácek

The performance here - a good one - is led by Václav Smetácek, who recorded several of Foerster's works for the Czech company Supraphon. Smetácek conducts what is called the Prague Symphony Orchestra on the label, but in other contexts has the more elaborate name "Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK (Film-Opera-Koncert)." Smetácek was the conductor of the orchestra for 30 years. They have appeared here before in the music of Jan Malát and Charles Gounod.

The recordings were made in Prague's Rudolfinum in 1968. This transfer comes from a 1972 US pressing on the Nonesuch label. The sound is good. The download includes scans, of course, but I've chosen to show one of the Supraphon covers here in place of the Nonesuch, which is too garish.

The US reviews for this unfamiliar music were generally good. R.D. Darrell said the music reflects "the piquant freshness of the Czech folk spirit" and that the work is "heartwarmingly voiced here by the Prague Symphony under Smetácek in Supraphon engineers' ungimmicked, robust recording."

Folk-Influenced Czech Music By Hilmar, Malát, Smetana and Ostrčil

In common with many late 19th century and early 20th century composers, Bedřich Smetana was inspired by the indigenous Czech music he heard when he was young - as was his successor, the even more renowned Antonín Dvořák.

In today's post he hear the music of a Czech composer, František Hilmar, whose published dance music may have influenced Smetana and Dvořák. We also hear some of Smetana's earliest music, as well as folk-inflected compositions by Jan Malát and by Otakar Ostrčil, a student of Dvořák's contemporary Zdenek Fibich.

These come from two early Supraphon LPs, the second of which has an incongruous full-up of Gounod's Faust ballet music, included here for the sake of completeness.

František Hilmar - Czech Polkas

František Hilmar

František Hilmar (1803-81), who is sometimes called the "Father of the Polka," was a teacher who also composed, making use of the dance tunes that were then becoming popular, especially the polka. He reputedly was the author of the first published polka, dating from 1837. Hilmar's works are said to have influenced Smetana in his younger years, as well as Dvořák. The influence will be immediately clear, I believe.

Hilmar's most famous composition was the "Esmeralda Polka," named in honor of the central character in Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which had been published in 1831. (A more euphonious title than the "Quasimodo Polka," I suppose.) "Esmeralda" leads off this selection of six Hilmar polkas. The recordings, dating from 1950, are by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under Alois Klíma.

Jan Malát - Slavonic Maidens

Jan Malát

Jan Malát (1843-1915), a younger contemporary of Smetana, was a composer and teacher who collected and edited folk songs. In "Slavonic Maidens," he characterizes Slovak, Czech, Polish and Bulgarian girls, making use of traditional tunes.

The 1950 recordings come from Václav Smetácek and the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK (Film-Opera-Koncert).

Both the Hilmar and Malát works are tuneful pieces that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes Smetana's Bartered Bride dances. The performances are idiomatic and the 70-year-old sound is true to life. These come from a 10-inch Supraphon LP.

Bedřich Smetana - Wedding Scenes

Bedřich Smetana

Now on to a 12-inch Supraphon album combining works by Smetana, Ostrčil and Gounod.

"Wedding Scenes" is a very early, folk-inspired composition by Bedřich Smetana (1824-84), dating from his high school years. Even so, it is characteristic enough of his later output that he utilized some of the motifs in his music for The Bartered Bride.

Smetana wrote the work for piano; this version has been orchestrated by Josef Hüttl. The 1951 performance is by the Film Symphony Orchestra, directed by Otakar Pařik. The sessions were in the Rudolfinum.

Otakar Ostrčil - Peasant Festival

Otakar Ostrčil

As with the Smetana work, the "Peasant Festival" by Otakar Ostrčil (1879-1935) is an early work, his Op. 1. Unlike "Wedding Scenes," however, it is somewhat uncharacteristic of Ostrčil's major, late-Romantic compositions to come. As the name implies, "Peasant Festival" derives its themes from folk and popular music.

The Ostrčil recording is also by the Film Symphony Orchestra, here conducted by Zbynek Vostrák. I don't have a date for the recording but it was before 1955, when the conductor passed away.

The Smetana and Ostrčil works are most affectionately and effectively done, and the sound is well-balanced.

Charles Gounod - Ballet Music for Faust

Charles Gounod

In this program of folk-influenced music by Czech composers, a suite by the Frenchman Charles Gounod (1818-93) may seem to be an odd disk mate. But consider that it is from the same period (written in 1869) and is dance music. Also, it is tuneful, direct, and was a great hit with the Parisians and for the Paris Opera. Gounod's score for his opera Faust was composed in 1859 and did not have a dance interlude until the Opera took the production on 10 years later. Ballets were de rigueur at the Paris Opera of the time.

The straightforward performance is led by Václav Smetácek, conducting the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, which does sound a little thin here. The 1953 recording comes from Prague's Domovina Studio.

If you want to compare this recording of the Faust music to another, I shared the George Weldon version last year.