Viklický E. - Homage to Josip Plečnik (Letters to Plečnik, Three Male Choruses)

Letters to Plecnik (After the Texts of Letters by Alice Masaryková)

1. Viale 3:23

2. Equinox 3:17

3. Dawn of Dec. 24, 1925 4:00

4. Gift (Qui s'excuse s'accuse) 3:20

5. My Dear, Kind Master 5:43

6. Tauromaquía - Trio for Oboe, Violin and Piano 9:08

7. Tristana for Violin and Marimba 9:15

8. Rondeau, s'il vous plaît - Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano 8:00

9. Adaemus for English Horn Solo 5:56

Three Male Choruses to the Texts of Eva Petrová

Chorus-master: Lubomír Mátl

10. Akrostic 2:28

11. O Mondaine Inconstance! 4:59

12. Panathenajský Průvod 2:33

Total Time: 62:55

Emil Viklický has devoted a distinctive part of his work to a series of Homages. In Homage to Miró (1987) he combined a classical string quartet with a jazz quartet, responding to Catalonia, Miró’s imagination and Gaudí’s architecture. A similar impulse stands behind Homage to Josip Plečnik, inspired by the architect’s strong ties to Prague, his teaching at the School of Applied Arts, and his later role as the architect of Prague Castle. Plečnik’s Slovenian roots, Mediterranean background and close friendship with President T. G. Masaryk and his daughter Alice shaped a long correspondence that became Viklický’s source material.

Letters to Plečnik is a five-part composition for mezzo-soprano and eight instruments. The vocal line is intentionally clear and direct, occasionally shifting into speech. The instrumental ensemble plays an unusually prominent role: it opens each movement, develops the refrain, and in the final section builds a long rhythmic passage ending with a quiet citation from Smetana’s My Country. The eight instruments create a rich palette of colours and heighten the emotional resonance of the text.

In contrast, the four-voice Three Male Choruses adopt a more monumental tone. The first is an acrostic spelling Plečnik’s name. The second, O mondaine inconstance!, sets a commented translation of Joachim du Bellay’s Renaissance poem on the fickleness of the world. The third chorus, Panathenaean March, draws on ancient themes and features a strongly rhythmic structure with the recurring refrain Pulchra res est homo, si homo est.

Between the two vocal cycles stand instrumental works. Tauromaquía, inspired by Goya’s bullfighting prints, uses fiery Spanish rhythms. Tristana for violin and marimba won a prize at the 1994 Boston contemporary music competition. Rondeau, s’il vous plaît for flute, cello and piano develops the rondo form using a modified folk tune. In Adaemus for English horn, Viklický builds on a spiral series that allows the performer to explore a wide range of timbral nuances.

Magdalena Kožená, born in Brno, studied at the Brno Conservatoire and with Eva Blahová in Bratislava. A laureate of major competitions, including the 1995 Mozart Competition in Salzburg, she later joined the Vienna Volksoper and made notable debuts across Europe. She has collaborated with conductors such as Simon Rattle and James Levine, and in 2003 was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.