Document Type
Article
Publication Title
College Music Symposium
Abstract
Leoš Janáček's ebullient Nursery Rhymes [Řikadla] (1925-27) occupy a unique position in the composer's output. Although they are among his very last works (followed only by From the House of the Dead and the second string quartet), the Nursery Rhymes are imbued with simplicity and lucidity befitting their subject matter that render them among his most witty musical offerings. Oddly, they are also among the least discussed and researched of his works. In his eighteen Nursery Rhymes, Janáček laid bare his most fundamental compositional techniques, concomitantly making them an ideal introduction to his style. The present study begins with the examination of several characteristics of his neotonal style as they occur in three of the Nursery Rhymes. These features are: mixed meter and polymetric subdivisions, stratified textures, diverse scale resources, motivic construction, the avoidance of authentic cadences, pandiatonicism, prevalent chord types, key area biases, tonal non-concentricity, and text-painting. Two songs are examined in their entirety, "The White Goat is Picking Pears" and "Frankie Plays the Bass," nos. 14 and 7 respectively. The article concludes by looking at the ways in which the first nursery rhyme, "The Turnip's Wedding” serves fleetingly as an exposition of the raw materials on which the cycle is based.
First Page
43
Last Page
63
Publication Date
1999
Recommended Citation
Novak, John K., "Janáček’s ‘Nursery Rhymes’ as a Compendium of His Compositional Style" (1999). Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications. 1233.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allfaculty-peerpub/1233
Department
School of Music
Rights Statement
In copyright
Comments
The citation for the version of record for this article is: Novak, John K. “Janáček’s ‘Nursery Rhymes’ as a Compendium of His Compositional Style.” College Music Symposium 39 (1999): 43–63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40374569.