The sixth annual Vocalfest Brno opened yesterday with a performance by the organizer - the Vox Q male chorus. Choruses by Leoš Janáček and Pavel Křížkovský performed by the vocal quartet got an unusual charge brought by the individualities of the individual singers and their mutual harmony. During the entire evening, the audience barely remembered that they might be missing the powerful sound of a large chorus.
This year, the festival focuses on the art of singing and revolves around vocal pieces by Leoš Janáček. We could says that this substantially fills a “hole in the market” of Janáček's interpretation which is usually limited to mature operators, the Glagolitic Mass and Sinfonietta in normal operation. The performances of other pieces quantitatively vary, we encounter many of them only occasionally. Janáček's male choruses perhaps belong to the most neglected despite their undoubted provocativeness, distinctiveness and, above all, beauty. The most extensive opuses with lyrics by Bezruč may be described as vocal poems with slight exaggeration but even smaller adaptations of folk songs always have the impressiveness of a sharply defined, characteristic piece. Many of these parts are also extremely difficult and somewhat carelessly written when it comes to singers. And therefore there is unusual admiration for Q Vox who dares to attempt such pieces with only four members.
Q Vox compiled its opening festival programme of modifications of folk songs by Leoš Janáček alternating with several choruses of his teacher Pavel Křížkovský. Performing choral pieces using four solo voices is a very risky idea and it requires a lot of musical skill and self-confidence. Q Vox is obviously not lacking reasonable quantities of either of those. It consists of singers who have, on the one hand, sufficiently characteristic voices and distinctive expression, but on the other they are also capable of cooperation and unified harmony in the ensemble. Maybe they are not ensemble virtuosos who impress with their total technical perfection, in which the individual members are lost behind the complex sound of the ensemble. However, instead, they have a piece of healthy earthiness in their performance that definitely suits Janáček and folk songs.
The evening programme showed a shift of style in the second plan from being inspired by folk art, as absorbed by Křížkovský in his work, to Janáček's rather folkloric approach. Pavel Křížkovský – a significant co-creator of the Czech choral tradition – takes folk themes, idealises them and passes them on in the noble wrapping of high art. Parts of his works are even reminiscent of opera due to the musical stylisation of laughter and other emotions (such romantically noble stylisation of the people remained primarily in the interpretive art for a long time; just listen to how Ema Destinnová sang folk songs). Leoš Janáček also stylised folk songs, of course, but he did not try to enlighten and change them by the touch from above and outside. Rather, he penetrates it, his art works from the inside, from where it shines through the source material and lets it shine with its own colours.
Martin Jakubíček played the piano and his role was definitely not just to accompany. He interconnected individual songs by improvising with Janáček's themes and above all he was extremely stylish in the improvisations. The only aspect, where he did not stay on the ground, was the dynamics, the piano was really roaring for most of the time. It was not a problem in small musical areas as a contrasting element to the softly sounding singing but he should have been a little bit more careful when accompanying the solo parts – he got better at it in the second part of the evening. With its power, the piano became an equal partner to signing and it was very good for the evening. The practical need to give at least a short break to the singers between individual pieces was not a mere filler and it became a functional part of the concert.
Q Vox stood in an arrangement with extreme voices – i.e. the first tenor and bass– in the middle, the second tenor and baritone on the sides. On the one hand, that obviously hinders mutual listening, every part has only one direct neighbour on the stage, but it contributes to the compact sound that goes to the audience. All members of the ensemble also had the opportunity for solo performances which they took on according to their temperaments. The first tenor Petr Julíček lyrically with a slight tendency to an entertaining position– he perfectly worked with The Beating by Křížkovský. The other tenor Tomáš Badura had his strongest moments in the adaptation of Fiddlers Were Roaming by Leoš Janáček. Aleš Procházka has a really deep bass that can reliably carry the expression of the entire chorus. The baritone Tomáš Krejčí has a true baritone– aggressive and bright, without artificial colouring and for other artists too frequent attempts to bring the colour close to the bass. He is also the artistic director of Q Vox and his musical intelligence undoubtedly greatly contributed to the coherent, stylish and impressive performance that the chorus had yesterday.
The dramaturgy of this year's Vocalfest is also worth mentioning. Leoš Janáček is the centre of attention of all three festival nights, while the remaining two can be visited today and tomorrow in the convent of the Brothers of Charity in Old Brno. The programme of performers proceeds from yesterday's quartet though today's twelve-member ensemble Martinů Voices to the Saturday's mixed chorus Vox Iuvenalis. Martinů Voices will perform, among other things, Exercitia mythologica by Jan Novák, Janáček's Hukvaldy Songs and Five Czech Madrigals by Bohuslav Martinů. Czech pieces will be surrounded by Francis Poulenc and Michael Tippett. In addition to Janáček and Křížkovský, Vox Iuvenalis will perform choral cycles by Zdeněk Lukáš Five Songs for Folk Poetry and Tribute to Authors. They will not forget about Alfred Schnittke who is a characteristic author for Vox Iuvenalis. It is probably beyond the capacity of a small festival to order the execution of Janáček's large choruses – Maryčka Magdónova Halfar the Schoolmaster and others. Such a programme should eventually once come during the Janáček Brno Festival in top quality.
For completeness, here is the complete programme of the opening concert of Vocalfest. Leoš Janáček Plowing True Love, I Wonder at my Beloved, A Drowned Wreath, Pavel Křížkovský – Song Of Parting, Leoš Janáček – Six Folk Songs (1.I Will Not Die on the Ground, 2.I Went through the City, 3.Four Scythes, 4.In the Meadows of Slatina, 5.Far and Wide, 6.For You, Anička), Pavel Křížkovský – Beating Leoš Janáček – The Soldier´s Lot, Pavel Křížkovský – The Recruit´s Prayer, The Drowned Maiden, Leoš Janáček – Ah Love!, Two Doves in a Fir Tree, The Evening Witch Pavel Křížkovský – Ave-Bell, Leoš Janáček – Five Folk Songs (1.The Maidens Went to Pick Berries, 2. In the Wide Field of Velká, 3.Guelder rose, why?, 4.Fiddlers Were Roaming, 5. And There Was Once a Farmer).
Male vocal quartet Q Vox: Leoš Janáček, Pavel Křížkovský. Piano – Martin Jakubíček. 12. November 2015, Convent of Merciful Brothers, Brno. As part of Vocalfest Brno 2015.
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