On an Overgrown Path

Leoš Janáček composed this melancholy Book I of On an Overgrown Path over a period of years. It was published as a complete thing in 1911. The 10 parts are:

1.   Our Evenings
2.   A Blown-Away Leaf
3.   Come With Us!
4.   The Madonna of Frydek
5.   They Chattered Like Swallows
6.   Words Fail!
7.   Good Night!
8.   Unutterable Anguish
9.   In Tears
10. The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!

As I listen to this, something odd happens. I become like a ghost moving through an older world of visions and lost desires.


Here's the great Janáček interpreter Josef Páleníček performing "Our Evenings" (the others are available):





Here's an article about Janáček from The Economist:

"On a Different Path"

1854 - 1928