Leoš Janáček: On An Overgrown Path

Originally scored for piano solo and begun around 1900, Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path is a beautiful and often very poignant collection of musical reminiscences from the Czech composer’s childhood, coupled with reflections on the death of his daughter Olga. In this brand-new orchestral version, Janáček’s music takes on a new guise, the ensemble’s dynamic and expressive range emphasising its emotional contrasts from tenderness (“A Blown-Away Leaf” and “Come With Us!”) to bleakness (“Unutterable Anguish” and the extraordinary “The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away!”). Accompanying this remarkable reinterpretation is poetry by French writer Maïa Brami that puts many of these musical memories in beautiful context. Bookending this recording are contemplative works by two fellow Czech composers, Suk and Dvořák, who, like Janáček, both had a fondness for folk song.