《Jenufa》 - Ienufa

In 1881 he participated in the founding of the Brno Organ School and became its director. In 1919 he opened a branch of the Prague Conservatory in Brno and taught composition at the master's class there. He contributed greatly to the development of Moravian culture, but he was slow to gain recognition in his own country due in part to the unique characteristics of the folk music of East Moravia on which his compositions were based - a mixture of Slavic features and oriental features introduced from Hungary, making it more familiar to us Easterners. Nowadays, operas in the vein of realistic drama such as Jenőfa (1903), Katja Kabanová (1921), and The House of the Dead (1928), as well as the opera The Tale of the Cunning Little Fox (1923), which weaves in sharp satire of life and the Buddhist idea of ​​reincarnation, have been translated into languages ​​and performed in countries all over the world, including Japan. However, although Jenőfa premiered in Brno the year after it was completed and established its reputation, it was necessary to wait another 12 years before it was taken up by the National Theatre in the capital, Prague. Among his vocal works other than operas are masterpieces such as "Glagolitic Mass" (1926), which could be called a hymn to humanity in the form of a mass, and "The Diary of a Vanished Man" (1919), a chamber cantata-style song cycle that depicts the life of a young man who has cast aside all shame and dignity and lived honestly as a human being, with bold depictions of lust. There is also an increasing number of amateur choirs that take up his early choral works.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Jenufa" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…1881年ブルノ･オルガン学校の創立に参画してその校長となり，1919年にはプラハ音楽院のブルノ分校を発足させて，そのマスター･クラスで作曲を教えるなど，モラビア文化の発展に尽くしたが，作曲の基礎になった東モラビアの民俗音楽の特異性――スラブ系の特徴に，ハンガリーからはいった東洋的な特徴が混じり合い，われわれ東洋人にはむしろ親しみやすい――も手伝って，自国でも認められるのが遅れた。いまでこそ《イェヌーファ》(1903)，《カーチャ･カバノバー》(1921)，《死者の家》(1928)のようなリアリズム劇の系統のオペラも，また，人生への鋭い風刺や仏教的な輪廻の思想を織り込んだオペラ《利口な女狐の物語》(1923)も，日本を含めて世界各国のことばに訳されて上演されるようになっているが，ブルノでは完成の翌年初演されて名声を確立した《イェヌーファ》も，首都プラハの国民劇場が取り上げるまでには，さらに12年間も待たねばならなかった。オペラ以外の声楽曲には，ミサ曲の形を借りた人間賛歌ともいうべき《グラゴル･ミサ》(1926)や，恥も外聞も捨てて，人間として正直に生きた若者の姿を，大胆な愛欲の描写も交えて描いた室内カンタータふうの連作歌曲《消えた男の日記》(1919)のような傑作があり，初期の合唱曲を取り上げるアマチュア合唱団なども増えつつある。…

※「《イェヌーファ》」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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