The masterfully stylised arrangements of Moravian Folk Poetry in Leoš Janáček’s songs were composed between 1892 and 1901 alongside his work on the opera Jenůfa. Janáček arranged a total of fifty-three folk songs for voice and piano, predominantly love songs.

The songs of Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová lead listeners into an intimate feminine world filled with sentimentality and delicate lyricism. In her music, Kaprálová uniquely transforms the influences of Janáček, the contemporary avant-garde, and above all Bohuslav Martinů, with whom she studied in Paris from 1937. Martinů was also the inspiration and co-author of Koleda milostná (1938), set to a folk text from the collection of František Sušil, which Kaprálová included in her song cycle Moments of the Year, Op. 18.

Bohuslav Martinů’s Songs on One Page, also based on Sušil’s monumental collection of folk poetry, were composed in American exile in 1943. Their poetic charm, combined with simple yet original musical expression, has placed the cycle among the gems of Czech song literature.

In his extensive and artistically significant song output, Slovak composer Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský drew deep inspiration from the folk music of his homeland. The programme features a selection of his songs on folk texts, most of which originate from his first song collection Drobné kvety (Little Flowers) from the early 20th century. The recital concludes with Janáček’s brief Ave Maria from 1904—a melodically compelling, urgent, and fervent prayer.