Vitezslav Novak - Lady Godiva, De Profundis, Toman and the Wood Nymph

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Vitezslav Novak - Lady Godiva, De Profundis, Toman and the Wood Nymph

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All admirers of lush, late-romantic tone poems should find plenty to enjoy in this release. Vítezslav Novák (1870-1949) is underrepresented in the catalogs, and this disc marks an important step in his evaluation. The sound-world is lush and saturated, an atmosphere captured well by Chandos's spacious recording. Straussian opulence with a soft Slav accent would be an apt description of these pieces. Throughout, Pesek exhibits an indigenous understanding of the Bohemian musical language, and the BBC Philharmonic responds passionately. The tenderness of Lady Godiva (written in 1907 and apparently composed in two days) is touchingly portrayed, while the imaginative orchestration of Toman and the Wood Nymph (1906-07), more daring than that of Godiva, is relished to the full. The later De Profundis (1941) proceeds in grand gestures on a journey from its initial subterranean rumblings to its organ-drenched, upliftingly triumphant conclusion. Warmly recommended.

Colin Clarke

Víteslav Novák was a member of the talented "in-between" generation of Czech composers, making his name at the turn of the 20th century, after Smetana and Dvorák, but before Martinu and Janácek. By all accounts a somewhat forbidding figure as well as a highly respected teacher, his music shows not a trace of academicism or pedantry. Indeed, he's one of the very few composers of his era with a genuine sense of humor (check out his delicious ballet Nikotina, on Supraphon, if you want proof), joining contemporaries Gustav Mahler and Ernst von Dohnányi in this select company.

There's not much to laugh about in the three pieces presented here, though. Lady Godiva is a straightforward tone poem illustrating the battle between sexes as represented in two contrasting themes, one rigid and stern, the other feminine and rhapsodic. Toman and the Wood Nymph, which has seen a couple of previous recordings on Supraphon, is a lovely nature poem inspired by what is basically a universal myth: call them Sirens, Rusalkas, Ondines, the plot always depicts the erotic power of womanhood to lure a man, unknowing, to (a pretty good-feeling) death. De profundis is another matter entirely: an anguished protest (for large orchestra and organ) against the German occupation of Novák's Czech homeland during the Second World War. Both its composition and first performance were an act of musical bravery. As might be expected from conductor Libor Pešek, who knows all this music cold, the performances are first rate, the recording top drawer. Essential, late Romantic stuff.

David Hurwitz