Jaroslav Krcek - Instrumental Music from a Czech Master

Jaroslav Krcek is an important musical figure in the Czech Republic. He's an authority on Czech folk music, as well as Medieval and Renaissance music. He's a classical composer and has written "an electronic opera." Krcek has been a music editor for Supraphon. And he's also invented an instrument or two.

Listening to this release of Krcek's instrumental music, I could easily hear the influence of Czech music traditions.

The 1981 Oboe Concerto is full of the highly syncopated rhythms of Czech dances. Krcek treats the oboe almost like a cross between a bock and shepherd's pipe. The melody lightly skips around, playing with simple figures that evolve over the course of the work.

By contrast, the Violin Concerto seems inspired by Stravinsky and Bartok, rather than folk music. Written just a year before the Oboe Concerto, the work has an other-worldly character. Long, suspended melodies are interrupted by sharply dissonant chords. And yet this is also music of great originality. Krcek's orchestrations have an unusual sound, especially his writing for winds.

Music to the Lusatian Sorb fable "The Secret of the Old Mill" is a suite from the film score. Here, Krcek the musicologist is in his element. The work is almost a  parallel to Respighi's "Ancient Aires and Dances." We're treated to Renaissance-style dance numbers, coupled with evocative folk tunes and a dash of 20th-Century polytonality.

The Three Dances in the Old Style is equally appealing -- and for the same reasons. These dances are highly rhythmic, blending modal harmonies with short, folk-like melodies.

All in all, a delightful album. And one that makes me want to explore Jaroslav Krcek's catalog further.

Jaroslav Krcek: Instrumental Music
Concerto for Oboe; Three Dances in Old Style; Music to "Secret of the Old Mill"
Gabriela Krckova, oboe; Kenka Kouhkova Torensen, violin; Musica Bohemia Prague, Jaroslav Krcek conductor; Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Bohdan Warchal, conductor