| Content | Interview with Bedřich Janáček on the occasion of his concert in Rome. Since the early 1950s BJ wrote to Bohuslav Martinů asking him to compose a piece for organ, BM usually replied that he was busy working on the opera. Thanks to Vladimír Vaněk, BJ was able to meet BM twice in Rome in 1956. At the Institute for Sacred Music, BM looked at the organ with interest and was initiated by BJ into the "technical secrets" of organ playing. He also consulted him about the organ cadenza for the oratorio THE MOUNT OF THREE LIGHTS, H 349, and two and a half years later BM sent him the score and BJ stated that it was "for the most part well written for the instrument". In 1958 BJ sent him organ works by Hindemith, Messiaen and other modern composers to sample. BM had previously told him about Hindemith: "I am not interested in his music, but naturally the technical instrumental stuff may interest me." In March or April 1959, BJ received a note saying that BM had finally written something for the organ, but he didn't know if it was too lyrical, and based on the organist's reaction, he would proceed with the piece or not. A few days later the notes of the unfinished VIGIL for organ, H 382, arrived. In BJ's opinion, not much was missing, and BM penciled in "Da capo", but this meant that he wanted to return to the opening idea and then finish the piece. There was also a beautiful beginning to "Vigil No. 2". In the letter, BJ gave the composer some technical advice, asked him to continue, and returned the notes to him. But he never received a reply, only heard of his serious illness and read in the newspaper that he had died. He then wrote to Charlotte Martinů and received the manuscript from her in the same condition as he had then sent it back to the composer. The first Vigil was completed by BJ with ChM's approval, edited, and the work has just been published in print in Paris. |