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The paper deals with Antonín Rejcha's (Anton Reicha) one act opéra-comique Gusman d'Alfarache, which was never staged during his lifetime. After briefly presenting Reicha as an opera composer, the paper discusses the context of the creation of Gusman and its surviving sources. The opéra-comique was rejected by the Théâtre Feydeau in 1816. The manuscript score in Reicha's hand has been preserved in the French National Library. No original source of the libretto has survived. The librettists Eugène Scribe and Jean-Henri Dupin, disappointed by the rejection of the opéra-comique, adapted the libretto into a comédie-vaudeville in two acts, which was staged at the Théâtre du Vaudeville on 22 October 1816. This adaptation of the libretto has also survived as a printed book. Based on Reicha's score and the extant adaptation of the libretto, a revival of the opéra-comique was staged in 2021 in Olomouc at the festival Olomouc Baroque Festival. The production aimed to present the surviving fragment of Gusman d'Alfarache completed with Reicha's other music in order to create a complete show. The paper discusses in detail how the revival was produced, outlining all the steps necessary to revive this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this study is a manuscript songbook collection which the Chrudim watchmaker Johann Valentin Schmitt began to assemble in the year 1807. The manuscript is currently housed in the collection of the Moravian Library and originally came from the papers of the musical composer Antonín Němec. This interesting songbook provides an opportunity to examine private music activities in the home of a craftsman and burgher at the beginning of the nineteenth century and into the vocal repertoire of music amateurs in the Czech Lands at the time. It primarily contains period songs and excerpts from theatrical works by Viennese authors (most frequently by Wilhelm Pohl as well as Franz Jakob Freystädtler, Joseph Haydn, Ferdinand Kauer and others) and the songs of musicians working in various German regions (for example, Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg and the Brno native Franz Lauska). The collection is further supplemented by arias from period French comic operas of the day by Luigi Cherubini and Etienne-Nicolas Méhul and songs by Prague composers (for example, Vinzenz Maschek and Jan Nepomuk Augustin Vitásek). Some of the unidentified anonymous songs can also be found in other Czech and Austrian songbooks of the time, while others have not been identified in any other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the previously unexamined cycles of propers by the Brno composer and teacher František Gregor Emmert (1940-2015) and also examines the composer's sacred works. The author reflects in the text on the variety of compositions that fall within the realm of sacred music. She points to Emmert's work with biblical quotations, sacred and liturgical texts, extending, for example, instrumental compositions with a sacred aspect or meaning. The core of the study is a description of two cycles of propers from 1986-1991 and 1998-1999 intended for liturgical purposes, which are preserved as part of the composer's papers in the Department of Music History of the Moravian Museum. The older of the two is divided into three volumes and contains the settings of texts for the entire church year. The transcription and rendition of the pieces from the three-volume cycle is the work of Zdena and Václav Vaculovič - organizers of the Forfest International Festival of Contemporary Art with a Sacred Focus. The study culminates in a characterization and analysis of the second cycle of propers, specifically the work Proprium Palm Sunday, which was composed on the basis of the composition competition of the association Musica Sacra in 1998. In the analytical part of the study, the author depicts the characteristic elements of melody, harmony, rhythm and instrumentation that form the basic compositional principles of the work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a prototype for the 21st-century female metalhead? And can it be described? This is one of many questions I am addressing in my partial research, which is a continuation of my long-term dissertation research on female identity in the metal subculture in contemporary Czechia. In the metal subculture, women are still a marginalized minority, but with their thinking and specific conception of style and image. The image here is not uniform; on the contrary, it is very individualized and original. The male world often inspires female metalheads, but this is not the rule, and the motivations for a particular view of the subculture can be very peculiar within masculinity. But at the same time, they are women - will they stand up in this masculine subculture and outside of it? Is there specific sexism towards women here too, and does this undermine the integrity of the female world? And are there sex symbols that have the same visual and cultural connotations in the metal subculture as in mainstream music genres? In this paper, I address issues of style, identification, image, and cultural conceptions of female visualization in a metal subculture that has never fully revealed its feminine side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is concerned with the still as yet unpublished letters of Leoš Janáček to Vlastimil Blažek, which were found among Blažek‘s papers in the National Museum – the Czech Museum of Music. The letters touch upon Janáček‘s visits to Bertramka on Easter 1928, after which he published the essay Zvoní na poplach (Alarm Bells Are Ringing) in the newspaper Lidové noviny (People‘s News). This was an answer to Blažek‘s letters, presented in the critical edition of the Correspondence of Leoš Janáček. The article also makes mention of the circumstances around Janáček‘s visits to Prague on the occasion of the Prague premiere of the Glagolitic Mass and his meetings with Kamila Stösslová. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the libretto of the opera Boris Goudenow (1710) by the composer and theorist Johann Mattheson in the context of Pseudo-Demetrius dramatic works written until around the end of the Baroque period. Pseudo-Demetrius dramatic works, i. e. works that depict events in early 17th century Russia and feature the character of False Dmitry I and often Boris Godunov, are not a rare phenomenon in European literary history. Most of them were written in the 19th century in Germany and Russia, where another and much more famous opera about tsar Boris Godunov was written by Modest P. Mussorgsky. However, the first playwrights began to deal with the two monarchs, Godunov and especially False Dmitry I, only a few years after the death of both tsars. The very first drama about Pseudo-Demetrius was written by Lope de Vega in Spain, followed by Italian writers, and the same theme appeared in England by the end of the Baroque. A comparison of these dramatic works shows that the prevailing religion of the authors' homeland played a significant role in their understanding of the characters of False Dmitry and Boris, which was also related to the sources from which they drew information when studying the subject matter. In Catholic countries, they generally used rather Jesuit and Catholic sources, and therefore understood False Dmitry I as the rightful successor and a virtuous Catholic, i. e. the opposite of the way he was described in hagiographical and historiographical works in Russia. In Protestant countries, the religious nature of False Dmitry's adventure played a secondary role. This is not unlike the opera by Mattheson, who not only wrote the music to Boris Goudenow but also the libretto. In his opera he depicted the period when Godunov allegedly pretended to be persuaded to ascend the throne, but his character is not negative (unlike Boris in the Catholic dramas) and his peripeties stand in the background of the love plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study concerns the topic of the phonograph cylinders and 78-rpm records market in the Czech Lands before WWI, focusing mainly on selected Prague retailers in the context of the sound industry's expansion in Central Europe, especially the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The study focuses on the practically uncharted topic of the commercial practices and strategies of individual sellers, their personal or corporate portfolio, and the range of products which were sold. Considering the scope of the available collections and funds in the National Museum (eg. in the Czech Museum of Music), the paper focuses on selected aspects of the distribution of music recorded on historical sound carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study compares the Czech and foreign 1990s music industries before and after the arrival of digitalization. It treats such factors as the income of music industry, number of sold media pieces, but also the sociocultural context, which accounts for possible reasons for changes in the music market. The unstoppable technical development brought about the replacement of audiotapes by CDs, which boosted the evolution of illegal copies, mostly due to the inadequate prices of the original recordings. The study captures the gradual relocation of the music market onto the internet, which caused a change in the approach to musical culture of both producers and listeners. The paper presents the 1990s as the period of the highest financial profits (both worldwide, and in Czechia), which plummet at the beginning of the 2000s in connection to the arrival of digitalization and MP3 streaming. In the new millennium, these profits have never reached the record-breaking numbers of the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses two types of musicals known as book musical and concept musical, neither of which have met with much interest in the Czech cultural scene. I have introduced equivalent Czech terms for both these types. The paper focuses on establishing a theoretical background for both terms, deriving from works of foreign authors (such as William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird, Raymond Knapp, or Larry Stempel), and summarizes the principal attributes of both types of musical. The two types are characterized through four basic components: 1. theme & motive vs. plot & story; 2. structure and composition; 3. cast of characters; 4. musical numbers. The paper's findings are subsequently applied to specific examples from two musicals, Miss Saigon and Rent. The study lays theoretical groundwork for possible follow-up texts which would apply its findings to specific musicals, including musicals written by Czech authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is dedicated to musical direction and its functions. It describes the various stages of the music recording process, focusing in particular on recording strategy and the post-production stage. It presents various perspectives that lead to an understanding of musical direction as an interpretive art, in which the editing method plays a defining role for achieving an optimal outcome. The author utilizes her own extensive experience as a musical director, as well as her knowledge of electroacoustic composition and sound management. Musical recording and all of its acoustic and interpretive parameters becomes a work of art. The paper views the editing of recorded material as an interpretive artistic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to examine the musical composition Six Pieces for Sixth-tone Harmonium or String Quartet (1928) by Alois Hába. Given that the author of the paper is currently the only musician capable of playing a sixth-tone harmonium, as well as the only one to have recorded the piece in question, the study includes valuable findings made while playing the piece, and explains how a sixth-tone harmonium is played. It also describes in detail the sixth-tone harmoniums built for Alois Hába by August Förster, and finishes by analyzing the composition's form and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper titled „Mental Spaces of the Opera: Cognitive Approach to the Operatic Productions" introduces conceptual metaphor theory, conceptual blending theory and multimodal metaphor theory as the means of opera performance analysis. These theories can help to understand the meaning creation in the opera productions and can be used e.g. as basis for comparative analysis of the history of staging of the opera. The author deals particularly with George Lakoff's and Mark Johnson's approach to the metaphor, Gilles Fauconnier's and Mark Turner's works on conceptual blending and Charles Forceville's understanding of the metaphor from the perspective of multimodality, and complements these approaches with Lawrence M. Zbikowski's findings about (foundations of) musical grammar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses a letter sent by Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk to conductor and composer František Neumann on April 5th, 1922, putting the letter in the context of Suk's other correspondence, archived in the Department of Music History of the Moravian Museum in Brno. It then proceeds to comment on the letter's transcription and discuss its content. The letter concerns the upcoming performance of Suk's Asrael Symphony in Brno, and informs Neumann of some of the corrections made by Václav Talich as he conducted the performance of the symphony by the Czech Philharmonic, thus confirming the authenticity of said corrections. Neumann took the corrections, which involved primarily adding a fifth and sixth French horn player, into account when conducting the performance on April 9th, 1922. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the research into the collaboration between classical and jazz musicians, who have created a joint 20-strong ensemble to rehearse the music of Anthony Braxton. It is a follow-up to our previous paper, Joining Jazz and Classical Musicians in a Single Improvisation Ensemble (Opus Musicum, vol. 51, 2019, No. 3, pp. 26-39), which describes the process of finding common means of expression during non-idiomatic improvisation. To discuss the new sound possibilities in a multi-genre ensemble, we have chosen conducted improvisation using selected musical pieces, including Braxton's Language Types and Composition No. 174, which is a combination of jazz, experimental and contemporary music, with open instrumentation mixing improvisation, classical and original notation. The research has confirmed our initial hypothesis, i.e. that introducing partial organization in an improvisation ensemble can eliminate or at least reduce previously noted shortcomings and risks of free improvisation and lead to the creation of a functional collective performance, while still retaining the desired spontaneity, creativity and enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the research into the collaboration between classical and jazz musicians, who have created a joint 20-strong ensemble to rehearse the music of Anthony Braxton. It is a follow-up to our previous paper, Joining Jazz and Classical Musicians in a Single Improvisation Ensemble (Opus Musicum, vol. 51, 2019, No. 3, pp. 26-39), which describes the process of finding common means of expression during non-idiomatic improvisation. To discuss the new sound possibilities in a multi-genre ensemble, we have chosen conducted improvisation using selected musical pieces, including Braxton's Language Types and Composition No. 174, which is a combination of jazz, experimental and contemporary music, with open instrumentation mixing improvisation, classical and original notation. The research has confirmed our initial hypothesis, i.e. that introducing partial organization in an improvisation ensemble can eliminate or at least reduce previously noted shortcomings and risks of free improvisation and lead to the creation of a functional collective performance, while still retaining the desired spontaneity, creativity and enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Piano Cycle On an Overgrown Path is the composer's most frequently performed instrumental piece. The eleven year period of its composition indicates the complicated genesis of the work. Janáček initially did not react to a call in the year 1897 to write simple compositions for harmonium for a volume of Slavic Melodies. He finally sent the publisher, however, seven 'moods' in the year 1900, from which five were published in all in print in the years 1901 and 1902, with only the title On an Overgrown Path. Jan Branberger approached Janáček in the year 1908 with a request for short instrumental compositions for an edition of B. Kočí. Janáček gradually expanded the cycle to ten compositions (two unpublished compositions from the year 1900 were not used) and provided them with poetic titles. They were finally released in the year 1911 with the Brno publisher A. Píša. Shortly before this release of the original cycle, Janáček released the first composition from the 'new' cycle On an Overgrown Path on 30 September 1911 in the literary supplement to the evening edition of Lidové noviny, this time without, however the poetic title. The printed draft was Ševčík's undated copy, which contained three numbered compositions in all, all of them without names. It is highly probable that the entire new cycle came about in the year 1911. The remaining two compositions in the new cycle were not, however, published during the lifetime of the composer. The final composition does not have its final phrasing and the composer wrote possible changes to it in pencil. The second edition of the first cycle came about in the year 1925 in the music section of Umělecká beseda from the original printed plates, with only minor changes. Janáček did not actively contribute to the publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the most important ornithological records from the area of Central Moravia - Olomouc and Zlín regions - from the period 1 January 2017 - 31 December 2017. The overview was compiled from the faunistic database www.birds.cz and from the author's records. Observations marked with asterisk are assessed by the Czech Rarities Committee. Where no reference number is provided, the decision of the Czech Rarities Committee was not known at the time of compilation of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article, completed in 1989 but not published until now, concerns the several manuscripts (mostly autographs) of Antonio Vivaldi that appear to originate from Bohemia and the time of the composer's visit, accompanied by his father Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, to „Germania‟ in 1729-30. Besides three manuscripts of compositions with lute (RV 83, 85 and 93), whose association with Count Jan Josef Vrtba had been recognized in the 1970s, there are eleven further manuscripts (of RV 155, 163, 186, 278, 282, 288, 330, 380, 473, 500 and 768) discovered to be of similar, putatively Bohemian provenance that survive in Vivaldi's personal archive of music. Through the examination of their paper-types and rastrographies (utterly distinct from those of the music-papers Vivaldi typically used in Italy), a clear picture emerges of the nearcontemporaneity and common origin of these fourteen manuscripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on two festive compositions which were composed in the year 1738 for Countess Maria Antonia von Kaunitz, who married count of Questenberg at the very same year. First of the mentioned compositions is the serenata II giudizio di Paride by the famous Italian composer Domenico Sarro. The second one is the festive opera II delizioso ritiro scielto da Lucullo, console Romano by the Viennese composer and theorbist Ignazio Conti. The libretto of the latter was written by the then impresario of opera at Brno - Philippo Neri del Fantasia. The serenata II giudizio di Paride was composed to celebrate the Countess' Name Day and was a whimsical pastoral play performed in the early evening on the 13th June in the illuminated garden theatre. The opera II delizioso ritiro scielto da Lucullo, console Romano was performed in the castle theatre hall only two days later. The stage designs were made according to the famous Imperial theatre architect and engineer Giuseppe Galii Bibiena, and gave an audience an idea of the Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou castle's premises. As a matter of fact, through this voluminous and representative work, with the main character inspirited by the Count Questenberg himself, the Count wanted to express his attitude to life, accentuate his Moravian patriotism, as well as to show off, to both his wife and the present aristocratic audience, the life advantages of his seat at Jaroměřice, which he was rightly proud of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) recorded his speech melodies (small, accidental records of the melody and rhythm of human speech) everywhere where he went. Their authenticity is precious as the author wrote them down immediately after he heard them: most often in pocket diaries but he used also any piece of paper available. As documented by Janáček's contemporary reports, he was very proud of this activity. The worse he bore the fact that the activity was not acclaimed by contemporary theorists. The situation improved at the end of Janáček's life and in the following decades when articles in specialized periodicals brought more profound researches of the phenomenon. Currently, a speech melody digitalization project is running at JAMU Brno which should result in a databases of all speech melodies, It is extremely difficult, painstaking work when each speech melody is analyzed in detail (decoding of illegible originals, its music transcription, intervallic analysis, description, text and music proof-reading and input into database). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]