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CHAPTER XX

Slovak Popular Melodies

Böse Menschen haben keine Lieder.

(I) by milan lichard.

I

THE songs of the Slovaks are scarcely known beyond the boundaries of their narrow home. In recent times intimate relations with our Czech kinsmen have done something to atone for this neglect ; for more than one dis­tinguished Czech musician has turned his attention to the Slovak folksong, and by imparting an artistic form to the existing raw material has made our popular melodies acces­sible to a wider public. Apart from the work of a few native Slovak musicians, something like a dozen books have appeared in Bohemia, dealing with Slovak popular songs and melodies. Unfortunately all these works treat only of a small portion of these songs, and indeed from a musical point of view the least characteristic portion, so that it is still by no means easy to obtain a clear conception of the true nature of the Slovak song. For with few exceptions they have passed over those songs which are composed in the ancient mediaeval Church modes, and which are still to-day a living tradition among the people ; or if the peculiar songs are referred to, no stress is laid on their modes, and no real idea is given of the beauty and simplicity of these venerable melodies. For this very reason I propose to discuss our songs from this point of view ; for it seems to me that the living folksong must be taken just as it is found, no matter whether modern music has long ago rejected these old scales. Only the conservatism of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches has saved them from extinction ; and it is our duty to retain them in our popular songs and to rescue what has not perished.

slovak peasant art.

(DRINKING CUP, in brass.)

A collection of Slovak folksongs has been published in Turócz Szent Márton (Turčiansky Svaty Martin) under the title Slovenské Spevy. Two thousand melodies have already appeared, and yet the collection is far from complete-indeed the most interesting districts have not yet been thoroughly explored. None the less what has already been published gives a sufficiently clear idea of the nature of the Slovak song. Slovak songs are, without exception, com­posed of strophes reaching up to ten bars, and triple time (3-4) is unknown. This and the fact that every note has a syllable for itself are such essential features of the Slovak song, that those melodies which are composed in triple time or allow several notes to one syllable, can be at once dismissed as of foreign origin. Nor do we find iambic forms ( — — ), which can only be expressed in music by means of an Auftakt. The occasional occurrence of the 6-8 time is probably due to an irregular, almost spasmodic attempt to reproduce the rhythm of the dactyl; for the common people, as was only to be expected, does not strictly observe time when it sings, but follows its own inner feelings. The attentive listener will often trace this rhythm, but it is alien to the true nature of the song.

What may be called the undisciplined nature of the folksong leads to far more serious abuses, when we try to commit to paper the song as it is sung by the peasantry. For an endless number of these songs are based on ancient modes, a musical ear will not allow the intervals to be modified, and we hear notes which it is impossible to reproduce in our notation. Hence it greatly depends on the musical judgment of the editor whether he gives even the approximate value of the intervals as sung. Without a close knowledge of the ancient modes, the Slovak melodies cannot be correctly harmonized, and this doubtless accounts for the inaccurate versions of some of the melodies which have been given to the world, and which are of course the more marked, the more elaborate the setting is.

Turning to the inner structure of Slovak songs, we begin with simple motifs consisting of a few notes, and then go on to themes built up on a thoroughly artistic principle — which clearly shows that melodies of this kind date from a time when these modes were in full favour and that their composers must have been really trained musicians. For unless these modes had been widely in vogue, it is obvious that the common people, who had no knowledge of musical rules, could never have composed such melodies.

In these songs the motif is treated in various ways. The first half of the tune often consists of two strains (a) and (b), of which (a) states a motif, (b) either varies or transposes it so as to end on a half-close. Sometimes the resemblance between (b) and (a) is in rhythm alone ; in a few cases they are entirely different. When the second half leads to a full-close it not infrequently completes the stanza in cross-metre — its first strain balancing the second of the earlier half, its second strain balancing the first. At any rate, there is, in almost every case, a rhythmical symmetry between the two halves of the tune, and the few exceptions which occur seem to be due less to deliberate structure than to faulty transmission.

The Slovak folksong shows greater variety of rhythm and of internal structure than its Magyar fellow ; the latter is for the most part limited to a single foot (—úú—), which occurs, it is true, in Slovak songs also, but must in their case be ascribed to Magyar influences (Ex. IV.). This rhythm has also unques­tionably been affected by gipsy music, which in Hungary gen­erally supplies the lack of instrumental music, and appropriates the melodies which it hears, only to transform them according to its own taste. Cases of the contrary are also not altogether unknown, the Slovaks adopting some Magyar air which appeals to them, and even adding a version of the original words. At the present day these mutual influences have already grown so strong that in many cases we are no longer able to assert with accuracy the origin of some particular song. This is to be regretted, if only because the pure form of the Slovak song suffers in the process, and the gipsies, those musicians of nature, show none too great respect for the melody. Those time-honoured melodies which date from the Reformation period, have been the chief sufferers, and traces of such influences are to be found on almost every page of the Turócz collection (Ex. V.). Modern intervals have been smuggled into the ancient scales, disagreeable harmonies have been added, wrong time has been introduced, and so on ; so that the whole is little better than a faint echo of what it should be. Those who would hear the Slovak song in its primitive purity, must go among the peasantry of the mountains, where gipsy music has never spread its infection, and where the original airs are to be heard unspoiled. They will never hear them in the towns, and least of all from gipsy bands !

slovak peasant art.

(stick, pOKERED and painted: bracelet: brooch.)

These old scales are a special characteristic of the Slovak song, which distinguishes it so widely from its Czech neighbour; lor they have already disappeared from the Czech folksongs, and only a few traces are to be found on the linguistic frontier. This loss is certainly to be regretted from a historical point of view, even by those who do not admit that the musical world is the poorer for it. The German folksong also knows them no longer ; and yet Johann Sebastian Bach was an incom­parable master in their treatment, and to him alone it is due that certain Lutheran hymns in these modes have survived to the present day in his settings, and quite apart from their immediate Church purpose, provide us with a rich source of instruction.

The peculiar rhythm and the antique scales impart to the Slovak song a special national character of its own, and when full justice is done to these features, we hear something which to the modern musical ear may possibly sound strange and unusual, but which is in any case genuinely Slovak (Ex, VI. a — f). This peculiar charm is produced by the different position of the semitones in the old scales, with the result that effects of sound are produced such as are unattainable by the diatonic scale. We must not, however, suppose that all the intervals which are rendered necessary by the position of the semitones, have been preserved unaltered ; on the contrary, we find varied chromatic changes both up and down the scale, and are faced by the hitherto unexplained fact that these intervals are better preserved when going down the scale than up.

Since our songs do not always begin and end with the key­note, it is naturally by no means easy, in the case of these ancient but corrupted melodies — especially when an error in transcription occurs — to recognize the keynote or scale as the case may be (Ex. VII.). The surest way to do this is to construct the scale out of the intervals in descending — a task in which any one can succeed with a little practice. When the scale has thus been constructed, it is easy enough to decide which intervals have been tampered with, and we shall find : —

(1st) that the minor sevenths have been chromatically raised, in order to preserve the leading tone (seventh of the scale).

(2nd) that in ascending the scale the augmented fourth of the Lydian mode is changed into a perfect fourth.

(3rd) that in the Dorian scale, the major sixth, being in conflict with the weak character of the minor third, changes into a minor sixth.

(4th) that wherever even a passing modulation gives to an interval the character of the new keynote, the preceding whole-tone is chromatically raised.

All this not with infallible certainty, but in the majority of cases. The causes were, on the one hand, melodic con­siderations (scarcely singable progressions), and on the other, harmonic considerations arising from the implied harmony. In the actual harmonic treatment this last reason becomes still more cogent, and divergences of this sort are always to be regarded as justifiable, even if the character of the old mode is affected by them.

Arbitrary mutilations, which are for the most part due to ignorance of these modes, fall under quite a different category, and can easily be corrected on the lines which we have indi­cated above ; indeed it is our duty to correct them, even if the common people have adopted these wrong intervals (Ex. IX.). The gipsies have done a great deal of damage by introducing the "Magyar Scale." This scale, which has been fixed by Francis Liszt, is really a harmonic minor scale, with raised fourth and seventh, so that an exaggerated interval (1¹/₂ tones) follows the third and sixth. The earliest notations of Slovak songs, which it is true do not date back very far, do not show this mutilation, which must therefore date from quite recent times ; the people has been attracted by them, owing to the intensely melancholy effect which they produce and hence they have found a place in our collections. But they deserve to be ejected without mercy, since they give a foreign tinge to our vigorous Slovak songs.

The part-song, still universal among the Russian peasantry, has almost disappeared from our midst (Ex. X.). Only in the extreme north-west corner of Hungary are traces of it to be found. Trios are the commonest form, the develop­ment of quartettes being seriously hampered by the political situation, and everything done to discourage this kind of part-singing.

There is not much to be said about the more recent songs, set in the modern major or minor scales ; while retaining the even division of time and the rhythm of which we have spoken above, they resemble in other respects the popular airs of other Western nations. The Slovaks seem to possess an almost inexhaustible spring of new melodies. Indeed a careful observer will find that the singer often surrenders himself so wholly to his fantasy as to vary the air in the second strophe, with

slovak peasant art.

(painted linen beetler, and brass candlestick.)

the result that it is well-nigh impossible to arrive at the original melody in the case of certain inveterate singers. This, too, explains the great number of variations which have been sanctioned by popular usage; and we must regard it as specially fortunate when one of these singers hits upon the true popular note, and does not sin against the national char­acter of the Slovak song.*

* [Singing is the chief passion of the Slovaks, and plays its part even in politics. At every election scores of electoral songs and lam­poons are invented and sung by the peasantry. The Slovak leaders — Hlinka, Juriga, Blaho, Hodža — are the heroes of a whole series of popular songs ; and the tragedy of Csernova already circulates in rude epic verses among the Slovak population. Not merely this, but Slovak candidates for Parliament have little prospect of success, unless they are good singers. Nothing finds its way so surely to the heart of the Slovak people as a well-sung song. An old peasant woman once complained to a friend of mine that her son was a useless, disappoint­ing fellow. What was the matter ? inquired my friend ; did he drink ? or would he not work ? " Oh no," said the old woman, " but nothing will make him sing. It is a great misfortune." — R.W.S.W.]

A slovak patriarch.

II. By rev. alois kolísek

Though the Slovaks are so rich in expressive and characteris­tic songs, their musical literature is very scanty — mainly owing to the unfavourable political conditions under which they live. Their development is arrested at the primary school; at the gymnasium or the lycée their very existence as Slovaks is challenged ; while at the academies or the uni­versity there is no room for non-Magyar national feeling. Hence there is only a very small educated class among the Slovaks, and there can be no real demand for musical litera­ture, while composers or musicians by profession are of neces­sity few and far between. Musical activity is not wholly dependent on private interest and the study of music in the family, but also very largely on the holding of concerts and the formation of musical and singing societies. Without this there can be neither producers nor consumers — neither a musical public nor professional musicians. Here again political considerations intervene; for Slovak singing societies or choral unions are only sanctioned in very exceptional cases, and Slovak concerts are always liable to be forbidden at the last moment. And yet, despite these difficulties, the Slovaks have done good work in the field of music and popular poetry.

Among the few composers of Slovak origin, John Leopold Bella is chiefly remarkable for his church music. When still a boy of sixteen he wrote an instrumental mass which was played with great effect in the cathedral of Neusohl; perhaps his best production is " The Prayer of St. Cyril." Of special value are his articles on music and song, in which he points out the distinctive character of Slovak popular melodies.[1]

Few people have known so much of Slovak popular poetry as Milan Lichard, whose chief thesis is that in any treatment of the Slovak song its original choral, almost ecclesiastical, character must be preserved.[2] In Lichard's versions many old songs really sound just like old church chorales, and retain an old-world character which is rarely to be found in the work of other modern musicians.

Another very promising Slovak composer is Nicholas Schneider-Trnavský, one of the few Slovaks who have made music their profession. He has devoted his attention to the harmonizing of Slovak songs, his object being, in his own words, to provide "a musical frame" for the simple airs. Among his various works may be mentioned a symphonic poem en­titled "Jánošík" (see p. 367), from whose romantic legend both Trnavský and Vítězslav Novák are endeavouring to construct the first Slovak opera. Trnavský's works have met with approval abroad : on a recent concert tour with the singer Umirov, which brought him success in Paris and Berlin, the German authoress Ossip Schubin greeted his music as that for which she had always waited but never found. His own modest phrase, "To be a Slovak and a composer is still a long way from being a Slovak composer," may perhaps be traced to the Slovak failing — lack of self-confidence ; but the wretched conditions of Slovensko are enough to dishearten any enthusiast for art and culture.[3]

Far more attention has been paid to Slovak melodies by our Czech kinsmen, who have studied and collected the folk­songs of the Slovaks, not only in Hungary, but also in Moravia. There is, of course, no great difference between the two branches of the Slovak race, but those of Moravia are far ahead of their kinsmen in political rights and in education, owing to their good fortune in belonging to Austria. It is, however, true to say that the Slovaks of West Hungary (Nyitra, Press-burg, Trencsén counties) differ more radically from those of the East (Sáros and Szepes counties) than from those of Moravia. The same applies to their songs. The Moravian collec­tions[4] contain many folksongs which occur in almost exactly the same form among the peasantry of N.W. Hungary ; there are merely slight differences of dialect, the Moravian, for instance, converting the hard "r" into a "ř."

The famous Czech composer, Antonin Dvořák, who secured so many triumphs in England, owes much to Slovak popular melodies ; indeed, he first made his name in Europe with his "Moravské Dvojzpěvy" (Moravian Duets), which won the warm approval of Brahms. Dvořák also composed several melodies in the Slovak style, which give a simple but masterly rendering of the divine art of the folksong.

A village worthy.

In dramatic musical art the Slovak folksong was first made use of by Joseph B. Foerster, who based his opera "Eva" on the Slovak drama in three acts, by the Czech authoress Gabriela Preisova. Foerster studied Slovak melodies among the peasantry itself, and made every effort to impart their peculiar melody and rhythm to his own work. He rarely employs an original folksong, but he has reproduced with the true feeling of an artist the characteristics of Slovak music.

Among the real masters of Slovak melodies the name of Leoš Janáček, director of the organ school at Brunn (Brno) will always be closely linked with Moravian and Slovak songs, not merely on account of his admirable essays on folksong and melodies, but also his own compositions based on popular motifs, which are of very high merit. His chief production is an opera in three acts entitled "Her Foster Daughter" ("Jeji pastorkyna"), adapted from the drama of Gabriela Prei­sova. Its peculiar feature is the use which he makes not only of songs, but of popular sayings. The opera, which was first produced in Brunn in 1904, was in the opinion of its first conductor entirely new in musical expression, and possessed a character which was all its own. "Its novelty is due to diligent and thorough study of the folksong, especially among the Slovaks. It depends for its dramatic effect upon the melody of the spoken word. . . . His method of composition is wholly individual, and can only be compared at all to that of the French composer Charpentier in ' Louise'; in the latter one might say, the music triumphs through its dramatic element; in ' Her Foster Daughter' the drama through its music. As Trnavský justly observes, Janáček has in this opera "created a new specifically Slovak style of recitative, which is by far the most effective treatment of the Slovak folksong."

The first of the Czech composers to whom the idea occurred of introducing popular elements into classical music was Pavel Křlžkovský, to whom the revival of choral singing and composition was due. Indeed, without him there might have been no Smetana,[5] or at least his appearance might have been retarded for many years. Krížkovský's finest compositions — "Dívča.dívča, lastovička ("Little maid, thou little swallow") and "Achdyžsem já šel od svěj milenky" ("Ah, when I left my love") — are derived f rom Slovak folksongs; and the original accompaniments of Slovak songs which we admire so rightly in Novák, had already been successfully attempted by Křížkovský.

Joseph Nešvera, whose oratorio "De Profundis" attracted attention in England, composed an opera "Radhošt," which acquires a popular tinge through its free use of the folksong. Among others he introduces the song "Já som báča velmi starý " — not in its genuine old Lydian mode, but in the modern D minor. Radhošt is a Moravian hill, whose name is derived from an ancient Slav deity once worshipped here, and which is associated with a whole cluster of poetic sagas and tra­ditions.

A blind Czech composer, Stanislas Suda, also wrote a one-act opera, "U božích muh" ("Beside the Martyrs' Column"), in which the rhythm and melody of Slovak poetry is imitated : the dance, which is the most original part of the piece, is drawn from Slovak models.

Few Slavs have ever combined so happily genuine musical inspiration and the modern art of composition, as Vítězslav Novák in his "Slovak" works. Specially worthy of mention are his ballad settings, his symphonic orchestral poems and his overture to the modern Czech drama "Maryša." His "Slovak Suite " is a masterpiece of the same type as Uprka's paintings, a composition full of life and originality, alike in rhythm and form. These charming pictures of Slovak life — (1) In church, (2) Among the children, (3) The lovers, (4) At the music, (5) At night — were at first set simply for the piano, but have since acquired fresh colour and brilliancy by their adaptation to orchestra. Some reproach Novák for his excessive "modernism," but it cannot be denied that he has assimilated the genius of the Slovak song and produced work which is strictly true to nature. While Janáček imi­tates popular instruments more closely, Novák excels in his piano accompaniments, which instead of slavishly following the melody of the song, have a being and a character of their own. According to his own confession, he first studied Slovak songs more with the object of learning their relation to the songs of other Slav races and of accustoming himself to the Slovak instruments — the bagpipe, the shepherd's flute (fujara), and the cymbal; and he was only gradually led on to graft Slovak motifs upon his own composition.

Quite apart from the Czechs, there is more than one master of world-wide reputation who has used Slovak melodies in his compositions. Brahms and Liszt especially employed many Slav motifs — the latter apparently in the idea that they were Magyar. Of more recent composers, Paderewski has been influenced by Slovak melodies in his opera "Manru," the scene of which is laid in a village of the Tatra mountains ; while the darling of the Viennese public, Lehár — whose nation­ality it has hitherto been impossible to establish — owed one of his great successes, "The Tinker" ("Der Rastelbinder"), to his use of the motifs of Slovak airs.

Perhaps, however, the gipsy musicians have done most of all to spread the Slovak song; and indeed their audiences often have no idea that the strange melodies which they play, often improved, often disfigured by their characteristic addi­tions, are really Slovak folksongs. The gipsy conductor, Banda Marczi, recently won an open competition in Budapest "for the playing of Magyar folksongs" ; but these were in reality songs of the county of Liptó, where the native popula­tion is purely Slovak.

If we ask ourselves wherein the importance of Slovak popular melodies lies, we cannot do better than quote the words of the poet Kollár: "The songs of the common people have not only a linguistic but also an aesthetic and ethnical value ; they are pictures in which every people depicts its character most truly, they are the history of its inner life, the key to the sanctuary of nationality. ... To lovers of poetry and the aesthetic sense, Slovak popular songs should be more welcome than the output of many a volcanic Parnassus of the present day." For Slav music as a whole they have a real significance, since Slav music shows to a quite unusual degree the influence of popular ideas and customs. Wherever instru­mental and choral music flourishes the popular song tends to disappear, and this explains the fact that Scandinavia, Hun­gary and Russia are to-day richer in such poetry than England or Germany, and that it died out sooner in Thuringia and Saxony where choral music was encouraged, than in other parts of Germany. Among the Slovaks theatres, balls and orchestras have not yet had time to obscure the natural feelings of the people, whose temperament is probably in many respects little changed since the days of Cyril and Methodius. All Slav nations have beautiful folksongs, but the most characteris­tic of all are those of the Slovaks, as though to recompense them for their cruel fate. Everywhere — in the fields and woods and vineyards, mowing or spinning or carrying grass — we find them singing ; and their melodies strike a new note in the music of Western Europe. Theirs, then, is the task to evolve a music which may serve to draw closer the bonds of Slav brotherhood. "The Slovak," writes Bella, " tells in his fables of the despised youth who goes to free his elder brothers from the spell which bound them; and so it seems to me that the outcast Slovak may become through his music the deliverer of his Slav brethren."

"Music is the only universal language; the translations of literary masterpieces only convey a dulled image of the race which has created them. Poets such as Vajanský and Hviezdoslav deserve to be translated, as worthy representa­tives of their race ; the artist Uprka, who is already becoming known in reproductions of his works, requires to be interpreted by competent critics. But if a Slovak Grieg arose, Europe would learn more about the Slovaks in a day than all our efforts will ever teach her. Gipsy music, which most foreigners mistake for Magyar, has certainly done more for the Magyar cause than all the translations of Petőfi, Jókai or Madách. What the foreign public knows of the Czechs is not the poetry of a Vrchlický or a Svatopluk Cech, nor the paintings of a Manes or a Cermak, but above all the symphonies and con­certos of Dvorak and the operas of Smetana. It was only after the appearance of Grieg that the outside world first acknowledged the culture of Norway. To the Slovak, then, I would say : 'You are forbidden to speak, to write, to sing. Compose! You know what deadly fear the government of Metternich displayed towards the ideas of the Revolution, and how censorship, state prison, political trials were the result. And yet this was the very moment which music chose to free the human soul from its griefs and broaden its horizon ; this was the time of Beethoven's most exquisite symphonies. Speak, then, through music, and the whole world will under­stand you. To-day brute force is of no avail against genius, and on the day that you send forth works like the symphonies of Dvorak, Smetana's " Moje Vlast " or Grieg's " Per Gynt," it will no longer be possible to ignore you.' "[6]

day dreams.

(From the painting by Joža Uprka.)

DAY DREAMS

Thus would be realized the words of the Slovak poet Andrew Sladkovič : —

Ty žiješ, pekná moja otčina

V citov mladistvých priestore

V nádejach tvojich duch Hospodina

V spevoch tvojich svitania zore.

Thou livest, my fair fatherland,

Within the realm of youthful dreams,

In thy fond hope — the breath of God,

In thy sweet songs — the star of dawn.

And here I may fairly bid farewell to the reader in the words of one of our favourite Slovak folksongs: —

Spievajže si, spievaj,

Spevavé stvorenie :

Veď je spev najmilšie :

Tvoje potešenie.

Slovensky si spievaj

I v zime i v lete :

Veď to najkrajší spev :

Na tom božom svete.

Sing thy fill, sweet singer,

Brimming o'er with music !

Singing still and singing

Is thy dearest pleasure.

'Tis Slovak thou must sing in,

In winter as in summer :

For no song is sweeter

All the wide world over.

the slovak national hymn.

HEJ SLOVÁCI.

Up, ye Slovaks, still is living our true Slovak language,

While our loyal hearts are beating truly for our nation.

Living, living, yea and deathless is the Slovak spirit:

Hell and lightning, Hell and lightning rage in vain against us.

Language is God's own good gift — our God who rules the thunder.

Who, then, who in all the world shall dare to wrest it from us ?

Were the world of devils full, for every man a devil,

God the Lord is on our side, and Death our foes shall vanquish.

O'er our heads may burst the storm, the rocks may reel and shudder,

Crashing oak and trembling earth shall not avail to daunt us.

Resolute we stand, unshaken as the mountain summits :

May the black earth yawn and swallow every shrinking traitor !