Petr Eben (1929-2007)
Písně nejtanější (Most Secret Songs), 1952
I. Cestami lásky (Along the Paths of Love)
A key figure in 20th-century post-war Czech modernism was Petr Eben. He studied under neo-classicist composer, Pavel Bořkovec, at the Prague Conservatory during a time when Communism had overtaken the young country. All music had to be approved, and composers such as Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Debussy, and Ravel were outlawed, as was much of the music from greater Europe and other parts of the West. Because of this separation, popular techniques like atonalism and serialism were not explored in Czechoslovakia until many years later.
Despite the lack of exposure to greater European trends, Eben found an individualistic style. There is a freedom to the structure of his pieces, no doubt from the Bořkovec’s influence, and his music never ventures into the atonal. He tests the limits of tonality, but he plays more with polytonality than atonality. As a lover of Medieval and Renaissance literature, as well as being well-versed in Gregorian chant and folksong, there is also an element of archaism to his music. Indeed, his most important vocal works dapple with medieval texts and/or themes, such as Šestero piesní milostných (Six Love Songs, 1951), Písně k loutně (Songs for Lute, 1951), Písně z Těšínska (Songs from the Těšín Region, 1952), and Písně nejtanější (Most Secret Songs, 1952) — written while studying at the Prague Conservatory. Each song cycle’s central theme is love, surely influenced life as a newlywed.
In “Cestami lásky”, Eben plays with polytonality throughout this one-page piece. This cycle is intended for low voice (as is most of his vocal music), and I personally believe this suits a baritone voice the best. There is an element of reverence in this piece, and the block chords in the accompaniment mimic an organ — an instrument for which he wrote often. Most of the phrases span an octave or more, so flexibility between registers is essential. The song cycle’s texts are that of both Persian and Czech origin. “Cestami lásky” is set to an originally Persian text, written by the medieval poet Abū Sa’īd. Eben plays with mixed meter, switching between 2/2 and 3/2 seemingly at random. Perhaps this is to depict the path of love itself — always changing and evolving.
Along the paths of love today my heart goes out to you.
Content with sorrow from your hands, with pain from you.
The blossom of your love is nourished by the soil of my heart.
There is no place in it, no place for any other part.
Translation by Natalia McFarren
Enjoy Ivan Kusnjer — an important modern Czech baritone — with Petr Eben on piano. Kusnjer has many recordings of Czech opera arias and art song that are worth the time to take a listen!
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