FULL Psalm of the Carpathian country (Eugen Suchon) Bloomington MN 2018
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Psalm of the Carpathian country
- Composer: Suchon Eugen
- Libretto: Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Ives Auditorium, Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Recorded: October 27, 2018
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: John Pickle
- Conductor:
- Orchestra: Kenwood Symphony Orchestra
- Chorus: MacPhail's Sonomento
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: John and Helen Timo Foundation video
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Psalm of the Subcarpathian Land is an epic symphonic poem and cantata for chorus, orchestra, and
tenor, written in 1938 by Eugen Suchoň. Suchoň was one of the most important composers in Slovak
musical history. His body of work is a representative expression of the modern Slovak musical culture. It
has acquainted the global classical musical scene with the psychological world of the Slovak man and his
national ethos at a high artistic level, and in spirit of the fundamental tendencies of 20th Century
European music. In addition to his compositions, Suchoň was an educator and established figure in
Czechoslovakia’s national culture at home and abroad from the 1930s to the 1980s, including as a
member of the Slovak Parliament–the Slovak National Council from 1971 to 1982.
The Psalm captures the love of the homeland, sympathizes with its tried and troubled people, and
expresses hope for the future. While the cantata is about the ancestral lands of the Carpathian Rusyns,
both the music and lyrics go beyond mere geography to foreshadow the horrors of World War II and its
aftermath. The poetry, sung in Slovak, was written by Jaroslav Zatloukal and foreshadows the dark,
brutal days of siege. Its darkly graphic images of gloom and despair reflect the anguished plight and
troubled heritage of the Ruthenian people, a diasporic ethnic group in Eastern Europe that speaks Rusyn
and is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. They share a common culture and language despite
having been governed by many different nation-states over the last two centuries. Since the beginning of
the 19th century, the Ruthenian ethnic groups were governed by Austria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine,
Romania, Slovenia, and the Soviet Union. The Cantata requires large orchestral forces and a full chorus
of powerful voices, as well as an extremely dramatic, Wagnerian-style tenor voice. In the first part, the
music and chorus express the tragedies of the centuries and associated feelings like anger, sadness, and
pain. The dynamic descending passages of the orchestra and choir emphasize the depth of despair in
this overture. Suchoň then passes into a contrasting, lyrical section that culminates in the monumental
finale, and then returns to a gloomy atmosphere. In the second part, the tenor solo alternates with the
chorus. The soloist enters the lyrical atmosphere already created by the liturgical choir, with a great
intensity as he screams “Earth!” Gradually, with the support of the orchestra, he accuses the people
(chorus) of passivity and tries to bring them out of monotony. This part ends with a sad statement that
many had to leave the country: “The mountains, the poor, the land, the rivers and the valleys, the hands
of your people go…” The third part begins with seeming resignation but the dynamics and atmosphere of
the final part gradually change. Male voices are added to female soprano voices, and music is
characterized by a gradual waking. The Psalm ends in a dramatic finale, with hope for a better future.