Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn (Wenceslas)

The most important heir to Dvořák’s legacy was his son-in-law, Josef Suk. Suk lived through the tumultuous early decades of the twentieth century and all that that era witnessed in political upheaval. He married Dvořák’s daughter in 1898 but was left weeping over her grave just seven years later. Among the foremost musicians of his generation, Suk’s obvious talent made him much sought after as both performer and composer. His most popular piece is the early Serenade for Strings (1892), though the work on tonight’s program is equally a piece of skill and compelling beauty. Suk’s Meditation on the Ancient Czech Chorale “St. Wenceslas,” as the title implies, is an extended, intense reflection on an age-old melody. Wenceslas, a tenth-century Bohemian duke, earned a reputation for piety and helped spread Christianity to central Europe. The work begins and ends quietly, moving from a series of imitative entrances toward a radiant finish. In between Suk builds progressively toward a cathartic highpoint, punctuated by abrupt silences and followed by a return to the haunting lyricism of earlier passages. I would not be surprised to learn that Samuel Barber consulted Suk’s Meditation when sketching his own Adagio. Suk’s piece includes a touch more optimism and is, by virtue of the Wenceslas chorale, more melodically than harmonically motivated. The entire first half is strictly diatonic in A minor, which makes the frequent key changes of the middle section sound all the more fantastical. This Meditation reminds us that hidden treasures still remain in the string quartet repertoire.

(c) Jason Stell