JAROSLAV KRČEK (b.1939): String Quartets No. 5, Op. 166, No. 6, Op. 172, No. 7, Op. 173 and No. 8, Op. 174 “Folk”.

Description: Krček seems to have arrived at the string quartet later in life, with the commission for first of these works by the present ensemble in 2017, and immediately embraced the genre with enthusiasm; the first four quartets bear consecutive, or almost consecutive, opus numbers. The composer is a leading authority on, and performer and arranger of, Czech folk music, and draws influences from early Czech music, Mediæval and Renaissance songs, 16th century hymn books and baroque music. Also interested in folk music of the 18th and 19th centuries, Krček has arranged several hundred folksongs and folk dances; all these inspirations are to be found throughout these works. The quartets are consistent in idiom, immensely attractive and tonal, heavily inflected by the modalities of traditional Czech music; the spirit of Janáček looms large over the style of the works - the 4th is a tribute to him - and they fall firmly into the neo-romantic category overall. All are in traditional four-movement form, with fast movements like lively folk dances and slow movements with the tender, often wistful or melancholy eloquence of folksong or the devotional seriousness of church music. Czech Philharmonic Quartet.