Brno Children's Choir

Luboš Fišer: *Fašank* (Shrovetide) for children’s choir and piano, set to Moravian folk poetry texts

Miloslav Kabeláč: *To Nature* (*Přírodě*). A cycle of children’s choral pieces set to folk poetry texts with piano accompaniment, Op. 35

Leoš Janáček: *Folk Nocturnes* (*Lidová nokturna*). Evening songs of the Slovak people from Rovné, JW IV/32

Bohuslav Martinů: *Špalíček*, H. 214 (selection from the version for children’s choir and piano)

Children’s singing has always been an integral part of folk customs, games, and festivals. The distinctive timbre of children’s voices inspired a number of leading 20th-century Czech composers; in the natural, unspoiled vocal expression of children, they found a fitting musical counterpart for simple folk texts.

Luboš Fišer (1935–1999) became renowned not only as a prolific film composer but also as an internationally acclaimed creator of orchestral, chamber, and vocal works. His distinctive postmodern style is unafraid to captivate the listener with Romantic—at times even intensely heightened—emotion, contrasted against simple, almost banal folk-like tunes and melodies. Such is the case with *Fašank* (Shrovetide) for children’s choir and piano—set to Moravian folk poetry texts—which was composed for the Bambini di Praga ensemble in 1982.