Vitĕzslav Novák was one of the most important Czech composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Moravian-Slovak Suite is one of his...

Vitĕzslav Novák was one of the most important Czech composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Moravian-Slovak Suite is one of his most popular works, evoking an eventful and romance-filled day in a Slovakian village. Recorded here for the first time since its rediscovery by producer Jiří Štilec, the Two Wallachian Dances further invoke Novák’s passion for folk music. De profundis was written during the dark days of the Second World War. It includes an important part for organ which is unleashed with full force in one of the most triumphant conclusions in all of 20th-century music.

REVIEW:

Vitezlav Novak (1870-1949) described an eventful day in a Slovak village with his Moravian-Slovak Suite. It was recorded for this production for the first time since its rediscovery by producer Jiri Stilec.

Conductor Marek Stilec has his orchestra play in a tense yet sensitive manner to atmospherically reflect the character of the individual pieces (At Church, Among the Children, The Lovers, The Ball, Night).

This is followed by the Two Walachian Dances and, finally, the 22-minute De profundis, which was written during World War II and can be seen as a protest against Nazi terror. Novak dedicated the work after the war to all Czech victims of 1939 to 1945, commenting, "In Brno, where Czech citizens were shot and hanged by the Germans for fun, they went en masse to the executions, just as the Romans did in Nero’s time, when Christians were thrown to the wild beasts."

De profundis thrives on dark brooding sounds and, in contrast, abrupt effects "of almost apocalyptic expression," as the introduction states.

The important organ solo becomes especially impressive in the powerfully thunderous Grandioso and supports the orchestra in the triumphant coda.

-- Pizzicato (Remy Franck)