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Jan Novák and the problem of a national identity in his works
Mgr. Martin FLAŠAR
On Monday colloquium Mikuláš Bek was analysing differences in music reception in Bohemia
and Moravia. I would like to approach the problem from the other side: the side of music
production. I shall try to suggest a few questions about tracing nationality in music works by
Moravian, Czech or European composer Jan Novák.
(E)migration to versus emigration from
The problem of musician‘s or composer‘s national identity emerges when he - deliberately
or not – changes the place of his stay. Such a problem for the music historiography
represents a migration of the Czech musicians and composers. Whilst the migration of Czech
musicians in 18. century was motivated above all by artistic, social or religious reasons, in
20th century was it caused mainly by political matters. And there is one more important
difference: while for the first wave of emigration was important where to go, for the second
wave was significant from where the artist was trying to escape. Which means that in the
first case the aim of emigration was to reach an important center of European culture (for
example Berlin, Manheim, Venice, Naples, Rome etc.), whereas in the second case it was
necessary to flee from uncovenient home conditions.
It is difficult to take some cases of 20th century emigration for real emigration (for example
Bohuslav Martinů left Czechoslovakia in 1923 legally, but the change of political conditions in
1948 made an emigrant of him). But there are still remaining those, which we can think of as
deliberate acts.
This is also the case of Moravian composer Jan Novák (1921-1984). He was a pupil of Vilém
Petrželka in Brno, Pavel Bořkovec in Prague, Aaron Copland in Taglewood and Bohuslav
Martinů in New York. It is interesting to compare his life and music production with Martinů,
because for more than ten years Novák shared his musical language and after all he became
an exile composer as well as Martinů did.
Musica Poetica Latina
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What is questionable is the problem of a national identity in his works. Jan Novák was rather
exceptional in his attitude to artworks set in music. Very soon he started to use a Latine
poetry in his works, which certainly was not usual in secular music in 1950’s.
He mastered Latine almost at the level of his mother language, what was underpined by the
fact, that he composed his own metric poetry in Latine. And what‘s more, he wrote a slim
treatise named Musica Poetica Latina (which was published posthumously by his friend prof.
Wilfried Stroh at University of Munich in 2001). In this publication written – how else – in
Latine, he criticises many his contemporaries for barbarian treatment of Latine language in
music compositions. For example Stravinskij and his handling the Latine text in Oedipus rex,
Henze in his Musen Siziliens, Benjamin Britten in Cantata Misericordium and others.
His „linguistic turn“ (G. Bergmann, Rorty, Wittgenstein) to Latine must be understood as an
act of inner emigration, as Piňos remarked.1 Or better told, as an effort to escape from
barbarian times. Novák held Latine and a culture of ancient Greeks and Romans to be a
warrant for the immortality of his works. On the other hand the use of Latine izolated him
from the contemporary audience and made the reception of his works even more difficult.
The question is: Was he a Moravian, Czech, European or even cosmpolitan artist?
Defining nationalism in music
In order to answer this question we must answer following questions resulting from this
one:
1. Is the notion of „nationality“ iherent to the music self or is it rather descriptive notion
given by the function of music in a context of contemporary production?
2. What does it mean to be an European or a cosmopolitan artist?
1.
Nicholas Temperley points out that „[Nationalism] often involves the conscious use of
elements that can be recognized as belonging to one's own nation (or would-be nation), with
the object of arousing patriotic feelings.“2
1
Comp. Piňos: Návrat Jana Nováka ?
2
Temperley, Nicholas. Nationalism. URL:
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e4676.
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And he adds:
“Musical nationalism is supported only by those who are politically, socially, or intellectually
concerned about their nationality.”
To be honest, Jan Novák didn’t care of a “Czechness” of his music at all. Much likely he
iherited neoclassical style of Stravinskij and the Group of Six filtered by individual style of
Bohuslav Martinů. What is more important, this fact was later (in 1950’s) misused by
culture-political authorities to persecute his production. As others of his contemporaries,
Novák was forced by representatives of the Czechoslovak Composers Union to compose
socially and politically engaged music. Theese attempts only resulted in strengthening his
irony and refusing application of the official theses of the socialist realism.
At this point we are getting the respond to the question about national character of Novák’s
music. Socialist realism – as only possible official doctrine in 1950’s represented by
Composers Union – could be characterized by certain kind of conservatism resulting in a
favouring of national subjects from Czech history, mythology, cult of individuals, social and
political themes etc.
Specific types of musical forms prefferd by the doctrine were a programme symphony, a
dramatic cantata, a mass song and other.3 Novák’s refusing of theese aspects of socialist
realism ment actually also refusing nationalism in the music.
Althoug we can find few examples of Novák’s coquetry with national subjects, they are more
likely exceptions to the rule. It is for example his ballet Svatební košile (The Specter’s Bride,
1954) after K. J. Erben, which drew a line through B. Martinů, V. Novák and A. Dvořák back to
the origins of the Czech national movement or Kouzelné písně na slova lidové poezie (Magic
songs on folk poetry, 1955).
In an effort to define a national character in music Carl Dahlhaus prefers to move our
attention from substance of the music to its function. Since, according to Dahlhaus
nationalistic music emerges as an expression of a politically motivated need.
In music of Jan Novák there was no need to express other then purely musical content. The
politically motivated need characterized the whole system of controlling the musical
production which Novák simply did not fit in.
2.
Dahlhaus asserts that outlines of the national music are not simple to be recognized in music
self, because they might fall in more categories describing music of different nations. When
3
Christopher Norris. "Socialist realism." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/45326 (Cit. 29. 9. 2009).
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losing its national characteristics, what actually distinguishes the national composer (Czech,
German, Polish, Hungarian) from the European or the cosmopolitan composer?
Who is a Moravian composer?
a) A composer who was born in Moravia,
b) a composer who considers himself to be a Moravian composer,
c) a composer who is being considered to be a Moravian composer?
In the upper part of this paper we introduced Jan Novák as the Moravian composer. Which
means that he was born and brought up in Moravia. But is it possible to define the character
of his production as a Moravian music? We must not forget, that he set in music almost
entirely Latine poetry, whereas the metrics of the language was the main principle of
organization in his music. At the level of harmony we can speak about extended tonality. If
we would try to find some folk song’s idioms in his creation, we shall hardly suceed.
Foreigner at home, foreigner abroad
Until the age of 47 Novák lived in Brno. After occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 he spent
a rest of his life in Danemark, Italy and Germany. If before he was considered to be “an
exception” among Czech composers, after emigration his situation became even worse. He
was not only a foreigner in his country but a foreigner in a foreign country. This distance was
temporarily diminished during his stay in Italy (1970-77) as a Roman language culture.
One of few exceptions in his relationship to Czech folk songs made Novák in his two simple
piano cycles Rustica musa I and II written in the mid 70’s. Here Novák harmonized 33
Moravian folk songs. For his own pleasure he also put some of the songs’ lyrics into Latine.
As he wrote in the correspondence to the composer Evžen Zámečník living in Brno, it was an
act of nostalgia and homesickness.
In reference to above said, Jan Novák with his Latine orientation was rather European than
Czech composer. It would be nice to use an indication “cosmopolitan composer”. Problem is,
that this label was misused by prominences of communist regime to denounce composers
denying to accept theses of socialist realism based on recycling the national music of 19 th
century.
If we consider Novák’s relation to ancient cultures and classical authors we must say that he
based his production on universal values overstepping values of particular national culture.
Bibliography:
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Axioms:
1. Socialist realism = a doctrine developing national schools style
2. Refusing socialist realism <=> refusing nationality in music
Forms of the nationality suppression in Novák’s works:
- refusing the Czech language, Czech history, myths and cult of individuals, social and
political themes
(comparsion with the contemporary music production: V. Novák: Píseň zlínského pracujícího
lidu, Dobiáš: Buduj vlast, posílíš mír! etc.)
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