Pochod Modráck (March of the Bluebirds)

The little march composed in 1924 forms the nucleus of the suite for Wind Instruments Mládí (HN 1093/7093), in which the jaunty Flute theme weaves through the 3rd movement.

Incidentally, the “bluebirds” do not refer tobirds but to the light blue robes worn by the choristers at the monastery in Brno, which Janá ek entered at the age of eleven. Almost 60 years later during a visit to Potsdam he remembered the Prussian troops’ invasion ofBrno and, with this in mind, wrote a chamber music miniature with a military element.

This Janá ek edition by Ji í Zahrádka, a specialist on the life and work of the great Czech composer, containstop-quality Urtext as well as detailed information on the work’s genesis and transmission.