The Sinfonietta (subtitled "Military Sinfonietta" or "Sokol Festival") from 1926 is a late work for large orchestra (of which 25 are brass players) by the CzechcomposerLeoš Janáček. It is dedicated "To the Czechoslovak Army" and Janáček said it was intended to express "contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory".[2] It started by Janáček listening to a brass band, becoming inspired to write some fanfares of his own. When the organisers of the Sokol Gymnastic Festival approached him for a commission, he developed the material into the Sinfonietta. He later dropped the word military. The first performance was in Prague on 26 June 1926 under Václav Talich.
Sinfonietta is typical of Janáček's tight construction in that the material of each movement derives from the opening motif. It features several variants based on Janáček's original fanfare.
The piece is in five movements, all of which have descriptive subtitles:
Allegretto — Allegro maestoso (Fanfare)
Andante — Allegretto (The Castle, Brno)
Moderato (The Queen's Monastery, Brno)
Allegretto (The Street Leading to the Castle)
Andante con moto (The Town Hall, Brno)
The first movement is scored only for brass and percussion. The second movement begins with a rapid ostinato from the wind but later has a more lyrical episode. The third begins quietly in the strings but is interrupted by a stern figure in the trombones, leading to another fast dance-like passage. In the fourth movement, Janáček celebrates the newly liberated Czechoslovakia with a joyous trumpet fanfare. The finale begins in the key of E♭ minor with a calm retrograde version of the opening melody. However, this quickly moves into a triumphant finale, the return of the opening fanfare decorated with swirling figures in the strings and wind.
Instrumentation
The score calls for the following orchestra with expanded brass section:
*) The nine C trumpets, the bass trumpets, and tenor tubas are heard only in the first and last movements.
Arrangements
Fanfares of the Sinfonietta, Janáček's autograph score
The work was transcribed for wind ensemble by Don Patterson in 1994 and by Merlin Patterson 1996, the latter being recorded by the University of Houston Wind Ensemble, conducted by Eddie Green, the following year. This work was also used by the progressive rock band "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" for their piece entitled "Knife-Edge".
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: brass ensemble
arrangement by: Rolf Smedwig
performed by: Empire Brass
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: brass band
arrangement by: Steven Hamstra
performed by: Brass Band De Wâldsang, conductor Rieks van der Velde [nl]
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: brass sextet
arrangement by: František Jílek
performed by: Brno Czech Brass Sextet
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: wind orchestra
arrangement by: Karel Bělohoubek
performed by: Czech Army Central Band, conductor Vladimír Válek
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: wind orchestra
arrangement by: Hynek Sluka
performed by: Prague Castle Guard and Police Wind Orchestra, conductor Miroslav Hanzal
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: wind ensemble
arrangement by: Merlin Patterson
performed by: University of Houston Wind Ensemble, conductor Eddie Green
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: organ
arrangement by: Josh Perschbacher
performed by: org Josh Perschbacher
Arrangement suitable for: orchestra
arrangement for: symphonic wind band
arrangement by: Simon Scheiwiller
performed by: Banda Municipal de Barcelona, conductor Salvador Brotons
The opening of the fourth movement (usually no more than about 40 seconds of it) was used as the theme tune for the UKGranada Television series Crown Court during the 1970s and 1980s, although it was never heard in full in any episode. It would be during this opening that the court reporter, Peter Wheeler, would, as a voice-over, either set the scene for the episode or else describe plot events that had occurred in previous episodes.
The third movement, Moderato (The Queen's Monastery), was the inspiration and soundtrack for the animated film The Queen's Monastery by Emma Calder.[3][4]
Haruki Murakami's novel 1Q84 begins with the Sinfonietta playing on a taxi's radio. The work then appears several times later in the novel as a recurring theme connecting the two main characters. The popularity of the novel has led to an increase in sales of recordings of the Sinfonietta in Japan.[5]
References
^Andrew Lindemann Malone. Sinfonietta for orchestra at AllMusic
^Goulding, Phil G. (1992). Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works (1st ed.). New York: Fawcett Columbine. pp. 526. ISBN0449910423. OCLC 26159166.
sinfonietta, janáček, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, sinfonietta, janáček, news, newspapers, books,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sinfonietta Janacek news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Sinfonietta subtitled Military Sinfonietta or Sokol Festival from 1926 is a late work for large orchestra of which 25 are brass players by the Czech composer Leos Janacek It is dedicated To the Czechoslovak Army and Janacek said it was intended to express contemporary free man his spiritual beauty and joy his strength courage and determination to fight for victory 2 It started by Janacek listening to a brass band becoming inspired to write some fanfares of his own When the organisers of the Sokol Gymnastic Festival approached him for a commission he developed the material into the Sinfonietta He later dropped the word military The first performance was in Prague on 26 June 1926 under Vaclav Talich Sinfonietta Military Sinfonietta Sokol Festival by Leos JanacekLeos Janacek in 1926PeriodPost romanticism 1 Composed1926DedicationTo the Czechoslovak ArmyDuration20 25 minutesMovementsFivePremiereDate26 June 1926 1926 06 26 LocationPragueConductorVaclav TalichThe typical performance duration is 20 25 minutes Contents 1 Structure 2 Instrumentation 3 Arrangements 4 Selected recordings 5 Media 5 1 Appearances and references in other work 6 References 7 External linksStructure EditSinfonietta is typical of Janacek s tight construction in that the material of each movement derives from the opening motif It features several variants based on Janacek s original fanfare source Audio playback is not supported in your browser You can download the audio file The piece is in five movements all of which have descriptive subtitles Allegretto Allegro maestoso Fanfare Andante Allegretto The Castle Brno Moderato The Queen s Monastery Brno Allegretto The Street Leading to the Castle Andante con moto The Town Hall Brno The first movement is scored only for brass and percussion The second movement begins with a rapid ostinato from the wind but later has a more lyrical episode The third begins quietly in the strings but is interrupted by a stern figure in the trombones leading to another fast dance like passage In the fourth movement Janacek celebrates the newly liberated Czechoslovakia with a joyous trumpet fanfare The finale begins in the key of E minor with a calm retrograde version of the opening melody However this quickly moves into a triumphant finale the return of the opening fanfare decorated with swirling figures in the strings and wind Instrumentation EditThe score calls for the following orchestra with expanded brass section Woodwinds Piccolo alternating Flute 4 3 Flutes 2 Oboes English horn Clarinet in E 2 Clarinets in B Bass clarinet 2 BassoonsBrass 4 Horns in F 9 Trumpets in C 3 Trumpets in F 2 Bass trumpets 4 Trombones 2 Euphoniums as Tenor Tubas TubaPercussion2 Timpani Cymbals ChimesStrings HarpViolins I II Violas Violoncellos Double basses The nine C trumpets the bass trumpets and tenor tubas are heard only in the first and last movements Arrangements Edit Fanfares of the Sinfonietta Janacek s autograph scoreThe work was transcribed for wind ensemble by Don Patterson in 1994 and by Merlin Patterson 1996 the latter being recorded by the University of Houston Wind Ensemble conducted by Eddie Green the following year This work was also used by the progressive rock band Emerson Lake amp Palmer for their piece entitled Knife Edge Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for brass ensemble arrangement by Rolf Smedwig performed by Empire Brass Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for brass band arrangement by Steven Hamstra performed by Brass Band De Waldsang conductor Rieks van der Velde nl Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for brass sextet arrangement by Frantisek Jilek performed by Brno Czech Brass Sextet Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for wind orchestra arrangement by Karel Belohoubek performed by Czech Army Central Band conductor Vladimir Valek Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for wind orchestra arrangement by Hynek Sluka performed by Prague Castle Guard and Police Wind Orchestra conductor Miroslav Hanzal Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for wind ensemble arrangement by Merlin Patterson performed by University of Houston Wind Ensemble conductor Eddie Green Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for organ arrangement by Josh Perschbacher performed by org Josh Perschbacher Arrangement suitable for orchestra arrangement for symphonic wind band arrangement by Simon Scheiwiller performed by Banda Municipal de Barcelona conductor Salvador BrotonsSelected recordings EditBretislav Bakala Czech Philharmonic Supraphon 1203 V 1950 George Szell Cleveland Orchestra Sony 88697 58952 2 Karel Ancerl Czech Philharmonic Supraphon 3684 Simon Rattle Philharmonia Orchestra EMI 5 66980 2 Sir Charles Mackerras Vienna Philharmonic London 410138 2 Andre Previn Los Angeles Philharmonic Telarc CD 80174 Frantisek Jilek Brno Philharmonic Supraphon 110282 2 Libor Pesek Philharmonia Orchestra Virgin VC791506 2 Jose Serebrier Brno Philharmonic Reference Recordings HCDCMedia Edit Sinfonietta II Andante The Castle sound sample source source Organ arrangement Josh Perschbacher Usurped Problems playing this file See media help Appearances and references in other work Edit A rearrangement of the opening of the Sinfonietta was used by the progressive rock band Emerson Lake amp Palmer for their song Knife Edge on their debut album The opening of the fourth movement usually no more than about 40 seconds of it was used as the theme tune for the UK Granada Television series Crown Court during the 1970s and 1980s although it was never heard in full in any episode It would be during this opening that the court reporter Peter Wheeler would as a voice over either set the scene for the episode or else describe plot events that had occurred in previous episodes The third movement Moderato The Queen s Monastery was the inspiration and soundtrack for the animated film The Queen s Monastery by Emma Calder 3 4 Haruki Murakami s novel 1Q84 begins with the Sinfonietta playing on a taxi s radio The work then appears several times later in the novel as a recurring theme connecting the two main characters The popularity of the novel has led to an increase in sales of recordings of the Sinfonietta in Japan 5 References Edit Andrew Lindemann Malone Sinfonietta for orchestra at AllMusic Goulding Phil G 1992 Classical Music The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1 000 Greatest Works 1st ed New York Fawcett Columbine pp 526 ISBN 0449910423 OCLC 26159166 The Queen s Monastery at IMDb Elsey Eileen 26 February 1995 In Short A Guide to Short Film Making in the Digital Age BFI Modern Classics ISBN 978 0851708935 Morales Daniel The knock on effect of Murakami s 1Q84 series The Japan Times The Japan Times presents Japan Pulse Retrieved 18 April 2013 External links EditSinfonietta Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Janacek Sinfonietta 4th movement YouTube Portal Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sinfonietta Janacek amp oldid 1069135242, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
