Janacek: On an Overgrown Path (Couvert, Pechocova)

All the great composers are unique, but it’s kind of hard to avoid the impression that some are more unique than others. And among the most idiosyncratic composers is Janáček, whose piano suites reflect a wonderful blend of Schumann’s confessional style, the austere meditative quality of late Liszt, and the imagistic richness of Mussorgsky. The music is built form a series of small, almost free-floating cellular motifs (“sčasovka”), and employs a highly extended tonality that sees unorthodox chord voicing and harmonic resolution (or non-), plus an intense but sparse style that’s very close to full-on minimalism. The result is that this entire suite has a luminous, open-ended feel, whether you’re listening to the delicate 1/2, the spiritual 4/7, the involute and enigmatic 6/8/9, or the relatively animated 3/5/10.

Couvert’s playing is lyrical, expansive, dreamlike: there’s a glowing quality to the more meditative pieces that’s really pleasing. Pechocova has a more precise, focused style, with lots of attention to Janáček’s instructions re articulation and a clear, kind-of-festive sound (No.3 almost sounds like Tchaikovsky).

Couvert:
00:00 – 1. Naše večery/Our Evenings
04:19 – 2. Lístek odvanutý/A Blown-Away Leaf
07:50 – 3. Pojďte s námi!/Come With Us!
09:11 – 4. Frýdecká panna Maria/The Madonna of Frydek
12:47 – 5. Štěbetaly jak laštovičky/They Chattered Like Swallows
15:40 – 6. Nelze domluvit!/Words Fail!
17:46 – 7. Dobrou noc!/Good Night!
21:00 – 8. Tak neskonale úzko/Unutterable Anguish
25:41 – 9. V pláči/In Tears
29:09 – 10. Sýček neodletěl!/The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!

Pechocova:
32:58 – 1. Naše večery/Our Evenings
36:22 – 2. Lístek odvanutý/A Blown-Away Leaf
39:28 – 3. Pojďte s námi!/Come With Us!
40:46 – 4. Frýdecká panna Maria/The Madonna of Frydek
44:28 – 5. Štěbetaly jak laštovičky/They Chattered Like Swallows
46:55 – 6. Nelze domluvit!/Words Fail!
48:58 – 7. Dobrou noc!/Good Night!
52:04 – 8. Tak neskonale úzko/Unutterable Anguish
55:46 – 9. V pláči/In Tears
59:10 – 10. Sýček neodletěl!/The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!