The Diary of One Who Disappeared
Encyclopedia
The Diary of One Who Disappeared is a song cycle
for tenor
, alto
, three female voices and piano
, written by Czech
composer Leoš Janáček
.
newspapers published verses titled "From a Pen of the Self-taught Writer". This "diary in poems" depicts a story of a village boy who had fallen in love with the young gipsy girl Zefka (Žofka), and who had decided to leave his family and village with her. The verses made a deep impression on Leoš Janáček (cooperator of Lidové noviny in that time), and he decided to rework the poems into the song cycle. He created a work in twenty-two parts, accompanied also with scenic demands. The cycle was composed during August 1917 and June 1919, the last modifications Janáček finished in December 1920. The composer created the work simultaneously with other compositions.
The composition was based on the story of Janáček's friend and late love Kamila Stösslová
. Janáček expressed his inclination in the letters to Stösslová, and he mentioned even the inspiration for the character of the gipsy girl Zefka: "...And the black gipsy girl in my Diary of One Who Disappeared - that was you. That´s why there´s so much emotional fire in the work. So much fire that if we both caught on, we´d be turn into ashes. ...And all through the work I thought of you! You were my Žofka. Žofka with a child in her arms, and he runs after her!...".
The Diary was premiered at the Reduta Theatre in Brno
on 18 April 1921 under the title The Diary of One Who Disappeared and Never Heard of Again, the end of the title was later crossed out. The tenor part was performed by Karel Zavřel, alto by Ludmila Kvapilová-Kudláčková, and piano part played Janáček's student, pianist and conductor Břetislav Bakala
.
writer Ozef Kalda.
The atmosphere of the work is mysterious, it contains emotional strength as well as psychological depth. The piano part bears some impressionist features. The soprano parts were rewritten and lowered by the composer for alto. Approximate duration is 37 minutes.
See also: List of compositions by Leoš Janáček
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
for tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, three female voices and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, written by Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
composer Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
.
Background
On May 14th, 1916, were in the Lidové novinyLidové noviny
Lidové noviny is a daily newspaper published in the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily. Its profile is nowadays a national news daily covering political, economic, cultural and scientific affairs, mostly with a centre-right, conservative view...
newspapers published verses titled "From a Pen of the Self-taught Writer". This "diary in poems" depicts a story of a village boy who had fallen in love with the young gipsy girl Zefka (Žofka), and who had decided to leave his family and village with her. The verses made a deep impression on Leoš Janáček (cooperator of Lidové noviny in that time), and he decided to rework the poems into the song cycle. He created a work in twenty-two parts, accompanied also with scenic demands. The cycle was composed during August 1917 and June 1919, the last modifications Janáček finished in December 1920. The composer created the work simultaneously with other compositions.
The composition was based on the story of Janáček's friend and late love Kamila Stösslová
Kamila Stösslová
Kamila Stösslová holds an unusual place in music history. The composer Leoš Janáček, upon meeting her in 1917 in the resort town of Luhačovice, fell deeply in love with her, despite both their marriages and the fact he was almost forty years older than Kamila...
. Janáček expressed his inclination in the letters to Stösslová, and he mentioned even the inspiration for the character of the gipsy girl Zefka: "...And the black gipsy girl in my Diary of One Who Disappeared - that was you. That´s why there´s so much emotional fire in the work. So much fire that if we both caught on, we´d be turn into ashes. ...And all through the work I thought of you! You were my Žofka. Žofka with a child in her arms, and he runs after her!...".
The Diary was premiered at the Reduta Theatre in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
on 18 April 1921 under the title The Diary of One Who Disappeared and Never Heard of Again, the end of the title was later crossed out. The tenor part was performed by Karel Zavřel, alto by Ludmila Kvapilová-Kudláčková, and piano part played Janáček's student, pianist and conductor Břetislav Bakala
Bretislav Bakala
Břetislav Bakala was a Czech conductor, pianist, and composer.Bakala was born at Fryšták, Moravia. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neumann, composition with Leoš Janáček at the organ school. In 1922 he continued his studies at the Master school at the Conservatory...
.
Libretto
The author of the text was anonymous and remained unknown till the end of 20th century. The true identity of the author of the Diary was revealed by Dr. Jan Mikeska in 1998, some eighty years after the verses were published. The originator of the poems was WallachianMoravian Wallachia
Moravian Wallachia is a mountainous region located in the easternmost part of Moravia, Czech Republic, near the Slovakian border. The name Wallachia was formerly applied to all the highlands of Moravia and neighboring Silesia, although in the nineteenth century a smaller area came to be defined...
writer Ozef Kalda.
Structure
The cycle consists of twenty-two parts:- 1. Andante
- 2. Con moto
- 3. Andante
- 4. Andante
- 5. Adagio
- 6. Allegro
- 7. Con moto
- 8. Andante
- 9.
- 10. Un poco più mosso
- 11. Con moto
- 12.
- 13. Andante
- 14. Adagio
- 15. Allegro
- 16. Adagio
- 17. Recit.
- 18. L´istesso tempo
- 19. Andante
- 20. Con moto
- 21. Meno mosso
- 22. Andante
The atmosphere of the work is mysterious, it contains emotional strength as well as psychological depth. The piano part bears some impressionist features. The soprano parts were rewritten and lowered by the composer for alto. Approximate duration is 37 minutes.
See also: List of compositions by Leoš Janáček