{"id":19901,"date":"2022-09-26T14:23:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T12:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=172121"},"modified":"2022-09-26T14:34:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T12:34:17","slug":"janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s Taras Bulba: a guide to Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s powerful piece and its best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Terry Blain\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 26 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

What is Taras Bulba <\/i>about?<\/span><\/h2>\n
A <\/span>father kills his own son, and watches his other son being executed. He himself is then burnt alive, yelling defiantly at his Polish captors. <\/span><\/p>\n
Such is the scenario of Leo\u0161 <\/span>Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s \u2018rhapsody<\/a> <\/strong>for orchestra\u2019 Taras Bulba<\/i>, adapted from a novel by the 19th-century Russian writer Nikolai Gogol.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<h2>When did Jan\u00e1\u010dek compose <span class=\""s2"\"><i>Taras Bulba <\/i>and what inspired him<i>?<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s2"\">The moments of savagery in the score \u2013 there are battle scenes and a death in all three movements \u2013 undoubtedly reflect the brutal military conditions in wartime Europe as Jan\u00e1\u010dek composed <i>Taras<\/i>, from <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-was-impact-world-war-one-music\/"\">1915-18<\/a><\/strong>. But the subject matter inspired him too: in Taras, the Ukrainian Cossack warrior, he saw a symbol of resistance to the German forces threatening his homeland of Moravia, and he dedicated the work to \u2018our army, the armed protector of our nation\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s2"\">The work\u2019s strongly patriotic, pro-Slavic sentiments and moments of shriekingly expressionistic scoring make <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> one of the most potent examples of Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s orchestral writing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Best recordings of <span class=\""s2"\"><i>Taras Bulba?<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Karel An\u010derl (conductor)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1961)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\"><i>Supraphon SU36672<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Is there anything particularly special about Czech performers playing a Czech composer\u2019s music? There certainly can be, if Karel <\/span><span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span><span class=\""s1"\">\u2019s (right) wonderful account of <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> with the Czech Phil is anything to go by. The distinctiveness kicks in early, with the uniquely plangent wind playing at the opening of \u2018The Death of Andrij\u2019. Both cor anglais and oboe soloists use more vibrato than might be expected, but it\u2019s beautifully inflected, and suits the keening quality of the music.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl\u2019s native understanding of <span class=\""s2"\">Jan\u00e1\u010dek<\/span>\u2019s spiky, rebarbative idiom is another crucial element. He is one of the few conductors to stop the brassy battle sequence in \u2018The Death of Andrij\u2019 from becoming a blaring free-for-all. Rhythms are sharply etched, accents cleanly pointed, and a sense of balance struck between the orchestra\u2019s different sections without sacrificing excitement. That rhythmic acerbity is evident again in the slicing violin motifs which launch \u2018The Death of Ostap\u2019, and the lean, hungry string sound An\u010derl elicits from the Czech Philharmonic adds an extra edge and febrility to the agitated march music as Ostap is ushered to his execution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">The recorded sound is on the dry side, and in the grand peroration of Taras\u2019s prophecy becomes a touch strident. But it\u2019s not enough to knock An\u010derl\u2019s riveting recording of <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> from its position as the finest currently available.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Karel-Ancerl-Gold-Vol-7-Jan%C3%A1cek\\\/dp\\\/B00006I49M","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"4.9-9.1","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\">R<\/span><span class=\""s1"\">afael Kubel\u00edk (conductor)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1971)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s2"\"><i>Eloquence ELQ4800643<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Rafael Kubel\u00edk\u2019s recording of <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> was made a decade after <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span>\u2019s, and reflects improvements in recording technology, with a warmer, more naturally balanced sound. Interpretively, Kubel\u00edk pushes <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span> close. No other conductor catches quite as he does the sense of doom surrounding Andrij\u2019s love for the Polish girl in the opening movement; the reprise of their music has a tragic poignancy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">The fierce, frenetic savagery he summons for Bulba\u2019s death by fire in the finale is also unequalled, and the visionary epilogue is incandescent. If <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span>\u2019s coupling (the <i>Glagolitic Mass<\/i>) is unsuitable, then Kubel\u00edk\u2019s disc \u2013 which includes the <i>Sinfonietta<\/i> and <i>Concertino<\/i> \u2013 comes strongly into the picture. It\u2019s a darker, more ferocious view of <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> than even <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span>\u2019s, and runs it close for top position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Janacek-Sinfonietta-Taras-Concertino-2009-08-04\/dp\/B01GUHCP6I\/ref=sr_1_1?tag=classicalm05c-21&ascsubtag=classicalmusic-0"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""sponsored" noopener noreferrer\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p2"\"><span class=\""s1"\">Jos\u00e9 Serebrier (conductor)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Czech State Philharmonic, Brno (1995)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s2"\"><i>Reference Recordings RR2103<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Jos\u00e9 Serebrier\u2019s <i>Taras Bulba<\/i>, on a two-disc collection of Jan\u00e1\u03a9ek\u2019s orchestral music for the audiophile Reference Recordings label, is by a clear distance the finest-sounding available, stunning in the breadth and depth of its spatial perspectives. Artistically it also ranks highly: Serebrier coaxes playing of slinky sensuality from the players of the excellent Brno orchestra in the love music of \u2018The Death of Andrij\u2019, and he is especially good at knitting together the successive episodes of the trickily structured finale. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Nobody quite touches the special sense of sustained intensity found in Karel <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span>\u2019s classic interpretation. But Serebrier\u2019s is a resplendent recording which reveals the inner workings of Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s orchestration like no other; and the sound quality is superb.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizer__deals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Sinfonietta-Lachian-Dances-Czech-Philharmonic\\\/dp\\\/B00005RDB2","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"9.1-16.9","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div> <h3 class=\""p2"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Antoni Wit (conductor)<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s1"\">Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (2010)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><strong><span class=\""s2"\"><i>Naxos 8.572695<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Antoni Wit was music director of the Warsaw Philharmonic when this recording of <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> was made, and together they conjure a sound splendidly suited to Jan\u00e1\u010dek. The snorting trombones and resiny string playing as Poles and Cossacks clash in the \u2018The Death of Andrij\u2019 have weightiness and crackle, and are richly caught in Naxos\u2019s excellently balanced recording. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">While lacking some of the urgency of both <span class=\""s1"\">An\u010derl<\/span> and Kubel\u00edk, Wit finds nobility in the burgeoning brass and organ chorales heralding Taras\u2019s prophecy in the concluding movement, with full-blooded, confident playing throughout the orchestra. With characterful accounts of the Lachian and Moravian Dances as coupling, Wit\u2019s is undoubtedly a <i>Taras Bulba<\/i> to be reckoned with, and it heads the field of budget discs.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-container"\" data-position=\""adhoc"\" hidden=\"\"> <h5 class=\""monetizerprice-comparison-title\" monetizer-title=\"\" style=\""background-color:\" color:=\"\"\/> <div id=\""monetizerdeals"\" data-type=\""price-comparison"\" data-config=\"'{"shopId":"1378","market":"gbp_en","template":"default","searchKeywords":"https:\\\/\\\/www.amazon.co.uk\\\/Janacek-Taras-Bulba-Naxos-8572695\\\/dp\\\/B007C7FFIG\\\/ref=sr_1_1?","excludeKeywords":"","geolocation":true,"limit":"4","priceRange":"7.7-14.3","sid":"term-classicalmusic-6-pcs-txt-pos"}'\"\/> <div class=\""monetizer__price-comparison-explanatory-text\" body-copy-extra-small=\"\" editor-content=\"\"\/><\/div><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Terry Blain Published: Monday, 26 September 2022 at 12:00 am What is Taras Bulba about? A father kills his own son, and watches his other son being executed. He himself is then burnt alive, yelling defiantly at his Polish captors. Such is the scenario of Leo\u0161 Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s \u2018rhapsody for orchestra\u2019 Taras Bulba, adapted from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19902,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-scaled.jpg",2560,1828,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-300x214.jpg",300,214,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-768x548.jpg",768,548,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-1024x731.jpg",800,571,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-1536x1097.jpg",1536,1097,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/janaceks-taras-bulba-a-guide-to-janaceks-powerful-piece-and-its-best-recordings-2048x1463.jpg",2048,1463,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Terry Blain Published: Monday, 26 September 2022 at 12:00 am What is Taras Bulba about? A father kills his own son, and watches his other son being executed. He himself is then burnt alive, yelling defiantly at his Polish captors. Such is the scenario of Leo\u0161 Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s \u2018rhapsody for orchestra\u2019 Taras Bulba, adapted from…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19901"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}