Leos Janáček: The Diary of One Who Disappeared – Pavol Breslik

Although “The Diary of One Who Disappeared” work is Janáček’s most important original song cycle, his keen interest in the folk songs and dances of his Moravian homeland resulted in a plethora of arrangements, making this music also accessible to the classical concert hall. These include the Six folksongs sung by Eva Gabel (Šest národních písní jež zpívala Gabel Eva) and the Songs from Detva (Písně detvanské). Quite unlike the songs of the ‘Diary’, which chiefly make reference to the Moravian dialect, the arrangements evince the typically ethnic-sounding music Janáček refined, so to speak, by adding to adaptations of the existing song lines a sophisticated piano part in the tradition of the great song compositions of the 19th century. Having explored songs by Mozart and Schubert on previous acclaimed albums, Slovak tenor Pavol Breslik on his 4th album with ORFEO now presents songs by Czech composer Leoš Janáček.