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This dissertation offers a thorough investigation of Pascal Dusapin’s song cycle O Mensch! (2009) for baritone and piano. By examining the score’s music and text, I summarize and clarify important musical features within the work, delineate the source of generative harmonic and motivic material, identify normative musical behaviors as well as departures from the normative, and present detailed analysis of several representative songs taken from the larger cycle. I also provide new English translations of the cycle’s source texts, which were selected and assembled by the composer from the writings of poet-philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. These translations were informed and shaped by Dusapin’s musical setting and are intended for use in performance as projected text for an English-speaking audience. While O Mensch! presents itself as a traditional cycle of lieder in its form and construction, it remains a work of theater in spirit. As such, I offer thoughts on the work’s characterization and narrative structure, and describe important visual and dramatic elements from my performance of the work in its American premiere in January of 2019. Dusapin’s music presents considerable challenges of execution and interpretation for the singer and pianist, and through analysis and translation I elucidate the process by which I, as a performer, arrived at my interpretative representation. I also suggest that this process might be used as a model for structuring future investigations into other works of a similar musical and theatrical nature.

The relevance of the study The author’s interaction in his creative work with folklore is one of the main ways of shaping national composers’ musical school. Spanish music culture is not an exception. There was discovering the uniqueness of flamenco culture through the searching of musical personal identity during the end of the XIX–first decades of the XX century. Original rhythms, modes and harmony specialty were inspiring for composers who searched the code of musical national composers’ school. Federico Garcia Lorca was one of them. His work «Canciones Españolas Antiguas» became not only restrained documentation of folkloric finds. His scientific interest was realized there with his own well-known authored style what provoked us to have some doubts about song’s origin. Was that songs stylization or authentic? How high was composer’s influence percent? The answer can be founded only through assesses the knowledge of flamenco tradition. We could find out real author’s creative participation thanks determining authentic flamenco components in the songs. These are the reasons and became the basis of the proposed article. The main objective of the study is to characterize the collection "Spanish ancient songs" by F. D. Lorca as creative project which arose at the intersection of the tradition of flamenco and author's style. The methodology of study includes historical method (in searching of context and historical background creation of collection «Spanish ancient songs»), biographical method (for clarify details of creation the collection, musical environment what was connected with Lorca’s views on the folk), comparative (for the comparing folkloric sources with author’s variants) structural-functional, system analysis, genre-style what allows to give characteristic of collection and to prove it’ artistic integrity as a song cycle. Results and conclusions. In the process of studying «Canciones Españolas Antiguas», it became clear that the balance of authenticity and authorial activity in this case can be ascertained only by relying on the knowledge of general folklore paradigms.We found out genres as sources for building the collection which were taken from flamenco culture. The «oriental» intonation nature of melodies saturated with melismas, mostly of a dance nature, is preserved. But the composer does not soften all these characteristic features, trying to bring them to the panEuropean musical standard, on the contrary, he strengthens them by using dissonant harmonies. He brings the rhythmic sophistication of authentic samples to the point of unpredictability thanks to the frequent use of hemiola, accents on weak parts, and syncopation. Impetuous performance and rubato, characteristic of the para cantar form of life (flamenco music focused on the singer), the composer conveys with the help of laconic remarks about tempo, dynamics, articulation, touches., Актуалізовано проблему взаємодії авторської творчості з фольклорною традицією. Крізь призму художньої практики кінця ХІХ ― перших десятиліть ХХ століття висвітлено вектор формування іспанської національної композиторської школи. Її своєрідність базується, передусім, на самобутній культурі фламенко, яку у той чи інший спосіб відтворювала творчість митців Іспанії, в тому числі Федеріко Гарсіа Лорки. Музична збірка «Іспанські стародавні пісні» стала не лише результатом сухого документування архівних знахідок, але й втіленням живого сприйняття фольклору іспанських gitanos. Характерні ритми, інтонаційна структура та ладогармонічні особливості фольклорної традиції фламенко надихали поета, інспірували його композиторський азарт. Набувала подальшого розвитку дослідницька тема «Лорка ― музикант»: зокрема, конкретизовані його фольклористична та композиторська діяльність; уточнені характеристики зафіксованого в аудіозапису (1931) та друкованому виданні (1961) музичного тексту в аспекті авторського і виконавського відтворення культури фламенко. У процесі вивчення збірки стало зрозуміло, що баланс автентичності та авторської активності у цьому випадку можливо з’ясувати, лише спираючись на знання загальних фольклорних парадигм, оскільки конкретні першоджерела, на які спирався Ф. Г. Лорка, невідомі. Нас зацікавило виявлення компонентів фламенко-коду, які залучав поет. Їх віднайдення посприяло встановленню історичних зв’язків авторського тексту із автентикою на рівні інтонаційних, ладових, гармонічних, метроритмічних, жанрових структур. Окрім того, у збірці виявлені ознаки циклічності, які розкриваються шляхом осмислення образно-поетичної сфери «Іспанських стародавніх пісень». Детальний коментар семантики конкретних номерів та музично-мовленнєва єдність дозволили встановити циклічність у побудові збірки, яка відтворює цілісний образ Іспанії та своєрідність іспанської ментальності.

Processing and publication of this issue were made possible through the financial support granted in 2023 by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic and the Faculty of Education, the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. The study will aim to characterize the songwriting of Dominick Argento (1927−2019), a leading American composer and Pulitzer Prize winner, and to outline the possibilities of its application in the education of solo singers in faculties of education. Argento’s songwriting is rich (he composed cycles for every voice except bass) but not well known and rarely performed in Europe. It may be due to the difficulty of some cycles and the fact that not all sheet music is readily available. Part of the study presents the musical compositions of Dominik Argento with a focus on songwriting, the characteristics of textual aspects of songs, and the composer’s approach to the musical treatment of song cycles. The second part of the study deals with using Dominik Argento’s songwriting in teaching voice at faculties of education. This section includes a short musical and interpretative analysis of selected songs and suggests specific compositions for voice study. The topic’s treatment benefits Central European vocal teachers and the professional public.

Die beeld van Arnold van Wyk as liedkomponis berus op sy liedsiklusse Vier weemoedige liedjies en Van liefde en verlatenheid, asook enkele losstaande liedere. Die beeld behoort uitgebrei te word deur kennis te neem van die ongepubliseerde Petronius-liedere, waarvan die komposisiesketse en outograwe bewaar word in die Arnold van Wyk-versameling by die Universiteit Stellenbosch. Die Petronius-liedere is 'n liedsiklus vir bariton en klein instrumentale ensemble (fluit, altviool, tjello, Franse horing, perkussie, harp en klavier) op vyf Latynse tekste uit die Satyricon van Petronius Arbiter (c. 27-66 GE). Die komposisieproses, begin gedurende 1957-1959, is toe onderbreek en is eers in 1964 voltooi. Die onderskeie liedere toon Van Wyk se vermoe om gedigte verbeeldingryk te toonset en om 'n oortuigende vormeenheid te gee aan elke lied en die siklus as geheel. Hy ontgin die instrumente se klankkarakter in die ensemble op vindingryke wyse en gebruik die begeleiding tegelyk as middel tot klankskildering en vormgewing. Saambindende elemente in die siklus is die eensoortige sentiment van die tekste, die klavier se deurlopende teenwoordigheid, die wisselnootmotief, en die gebruik van die tritonus in verskillende toonsoorte, asook pedaalpunte. Akkoordsamestellings lees dikwels moeilik weens die dubbele spelling van note. Nadat elke lied individueel bespreek word, word gewys op die moontlike invloed van Benjamin Britten se werk op die Petronius-liedere. Arnold van Wyk's reputation as a composer of art songs rests on his two song cycles Vier weemoedige liedjies and Van liefde en verlatenheid as well as several single songs. The Petronius songs, a cycle of five songs for baritone and small instrumental ensemble (flute, viola, cello, horn, percussion, harp and piano), are still unpublished and thus unknown to the wider public. The songs offer rich research material and deserve to be published and performed. The texts of these songs, in Latin, are taken from the Satyricon by Petronius Arbiter (c. 27-66 CE), a member of the inner court of the Roman emperor Nero around 62 CE. Petronius describes Roman life of that era in a simple but colourful way. The mood of the chosen five poems is nocturnal and, in some cases, borders on the melancholic. The topics do not shy away from the occasional eroticism or even homoeroticism. Van Wyk began working on the song cycle during 1957-1959 but, following an interruption, only completed it in 1964. Factors that contributed to the slow compositional progress included the composer's heavy workload at the College of Music, Cape Town, his preoccupation with other compositional projects, such as the orchestral work Primavera, and his unstable health, depression and periodic compositional droughts. During February 1960 Van Wyk resigned as senior lecturer at the College of Music and in October that year became a lecturer at Stellenbosch University's Department of Music. Like Van liefde en verlatenheid, the Petronius cycle is cast in a symmetric form: the first and fifth songs balance each other in respect of sentiment and style, as do the second and fourth, while the third song displays a character of its own. The first and last songs (Qualis nox and Sit nox) are lyrical, while the second and fourth ones (Lecto compositus and Somnia quae mentes ludunt) represent a more narrative approach. For the third song, Foeda est, the accompaniment was restricted to piano, giving a unique character to the song and emphasising its singular position at the centre of the cycle. In discussing the various songs, this article draws attention to Van Wyk's ability to set words to music in a highly imaginative way, and to his sensitivity for the feelings expressed in the texts. His compositional proficiency is highlighted, especially his extraordinary skill in creating atmosphere and "painting" with musical sounds. The article highlights how the accompaniments - through recurring motives, varying textures, changes in tempo, the frequent use ofpedal points and the continuous presence of the piano - not only underline the songs' formal structure but contribute to the music's evocative character. Because of their length and picturesque content, Lecto compositus and Somnia quae mentes ludunt posed a special challenge to the composer. Van Wyk succeeded in representing colourful scenes by means of an imaginative use of the timbre of the accompanying instruments. In each song one instrument is accorded prominence, to capture and represent the poem's essence. Complex chord structures, double spelling of notes in a chord, some abrupt modulations and frequent use of the tritone in different keys, as well as the already mentioned pedal points, characterise the harmonic content of the songs. The taxing vocal part requires a skilled baritone voice. Considering the wider context of this Van Wyk song cycle, one should not overlook the possible influence that some of Benjamin Britten's works may have had on it. Although Van Wyk's songs exhibit their own characteristic style there are several areas where marked similarities with Britten's works are noticeable. Worth mentioning are the original high tessiture and lyrical sound of Van Wyk'sfirst attempts at setting Qualis nox and Sit nox to music. These characteristics remind one of Britten's Les illuminations and Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The B-section ofVan Wyk's Somnia quae mentes ludunt could be compared with many examples of explicit word painting in Britten's songs, such as Rats Away! from Our Hunting Fathers, as well as Below the thunders of the upper deep and Midnight's bell goes ting, both from Nocturne. Even the use of descriptive melismas on words like ludunt (tease), sanguine (blood) and quatit (shake) can be compared with Britten's treatment of l'ecume (the foam) and tourbillons (whirlpools) in Marine from Les illuminations and lulling in Sonnet from Serenade. The aim of this article is to bring this extraordinary song cycle to the attention of performers and researchers alike.

This dissertation with accompanying Creative Works lecture documents a collaboration between a professional singer (myself), a professional pianist, and a composer as they create a song-cycle together. It is an autoethnography of my journey as I explore the processes of choosing lyrics, first reads of the songs, rehearsals with the composer present, rehearsals without the composer present, two performances and the recording sessions resulting in a CD of the cycle. The roles of notation, live performance, and recordings in the realisation of a score are explored. I document the way I learn a new score and make technical choices when singing sections of music that are challenging for my voice type. The study also investigates the way the composer began to write specifically for the two performers after hearing the live performance of the first four songs in the cycle. The collaboration between the performers is investigated through issues of vulnerability, trust, communication, and accountability. The research indicates that collaborations between performers and composers result in musical scores that are clear in terms of a composer’s intentions and can also reflect the abilities of the performers.

Etter sitt kommersielle gjennombrudd med good kid, m.A.A.d. city i 2012, ble Kendrick Lamar regnet som den store frelseren av hip hop. Det var med andre ord store forventninger da han utga oppfølgeren To Pimp a Butterfly i 2015. Lamar levde opp til forventningene med et album som ble hyllet av både fans, kollegaer og kritikere. Resepsjonen var positiv både i lys av hans musikalske evner, men like mye for å lage musikk som gir introspektive skildringer av hvordan det er å være afro-amerikaner i nåtidens USA. Han har blitt studert i mange forskjellige fakultet i Akademia og konseptalbumet er komplekst nok til å engasjere mange forskjellige fagfelt. Til tross for at det er et konseptalbum, er det få som ser på albumet i sin helhet. Denne oppgaven tar denne retningen, og ser på hvordan To Pimp a Butterfly viser en mann i en selv-realiserende prosess. Etter å ha introdusert min problemstilling, albumet og dets resepsjon, ser jeg i andre kapittel på hvordan denne prosessen blir presentert i to dikt som Lamar leser høyt i slutten av albumet. Jeg viser hvordan det ene diktet, som jeg har kalt «spoken-word poem», strukturerer albumet ved å gradvis tilføye nye linjer som skildrer Lamar sin personlige utvikling. Det andre diktet, «Poem of the Caterpillar and the Butterfly”, skildrer det han har lært om samfunnet han vokste opp i. Dette diktet beskriver allegorisk den selv-realiserende prosessen. Videre utforsker jeg sjangrene ‘konseptalbum’ og ‘sang syklus’ og hvordan albumet svarer på disse. Jeg sammenligner også Lamar sin fortelling med den tradisjonelle sjangeren for personlig utvikling, bildungsromanen. Videre viser jeg hvordan de to diktene konkluderer med temaet ‘samhold’. Sangen «Alright» er kjent for sine forenende egenskaper. Derfor velger jeg å analysere musikkvideoen til denne sangen gjennom multimodal teori i kapittel tre. Her viser jeg hvordan musikkvideoen gjenskaper metaforene fra diktene gjennom det visuelle. Ved å se på samspillet mellom lyd, tekst og bilde utforsker jeg hvordan videoen skaper ny mening og dybde. Samspillet gjør at videoen både oppsummerer og bygger videre på Lamar sin store suksess, To Pimp a Butterfly. Engelsk mastergradsoppgave MAHF-LÆFR MAHF-ENG ENG350

Six Blake Songs is a song cycle for Soprano and mixed chamber ensemble (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Violin and Viola). The work sets several texts by the English poet William Blake (1757-1827), which all share the central theme of Time. Nearly all of these texts are excerpts from larger works, with the exception of the poem Ah, Sunflower, which is presented at the work’s conclusion. Discrete collections of frequencies, which are derived from either the frequency modulation of two notes or from the overtones of a single fundamental, provide the pitch content for the entire piece. In addition, many of the durations of notes, gestures, and phrases, are designed to fluctuate in size systematically.

I denna uppsats undersöks hur ett konceptuellt album skrivs samt produceras med analyser av tre existerande konceptuella album i pop/indiepoprock genre som underlag. I arbetet utforskas hur specifika konceptuella parametrar så som text, struktur samt sound kan appliceras på det egna musikskapandet samt hur det påverkar arbetsprocessen. Det undersöks vilka svårigheter som uppkommer med att arbeta efter specifika konceptuella parametrar samt hur väl låtarna fungerar både i och utanför det konceptuella upplägget. Resultatet blir sju egenskriva låtar till ett konceptuellt album och i diskussionen analyseras konceptualitet som begrepp.

На примере фольклорного материала, представленного корпусом русских исторических песен XVI в., рассматривается возможность реконструкции психологического портрета отраженной в них исторической личности. В качестве методологической базы исследования предлагается использовать достижения новой гуманитарной дисциплины, возникшей на стыке истории и психологии., Using the example of folklore material represented by the corpus of Russian historical songs of the XVI century, the possibility of reconstructing the psychological portrait of the historical personality reflected in them is considered. As a methodological basis for the study, it is proposed to use the achievements of a new humanitarian discipline that has arisen at the junction of history and psychology.

Рассматривается проблема хронологического выстраивания русских исторических песен, входящих в цикл «Взятие Казани». Определяется круг текстов, максимально близких по времени возникновения к отраженному историческому событию, выделяются их информационное ядро и сюжетообразующие элементы и на этой основе моделируется возможный вариант изначального песенного текста., The problem of chronological alignment of Russian historical songs entering the cycle “Taking Kazan” is considered. A range of texts that are as close as possible to the reflected historical event are identified, their information nucleus and plot-forming elements are highlighted, and on this basis the possible variant of the original song text is modeled.

This research explored professional singers’ pronunciation of German in Frauenliebe und Leben, a song cycle, composed in 1840 by Robert Schumann (1810–1856). Adopting a two-fold approach, the thesis examined pronunciation from the viewpoints of normative German pronunciation and vocal pedagogy, paying special attention to the relationship between the two sets of norms. Normative German pronunciation is based on ‘reine Hochlautung’ as defined by Theodor Siebs, as well as on his instructions to classical singers. Norms of pronunciation used in vocal pedagogy were derived from 11 German pronunciation manuals for classical singers. At the centre of this study were 11 elements of the German language: the phonemes /s/, /r/, /b/, /d/ and /g/, the suffix -ig, double consonants, connecting consonants, the letter combination ng, liaison and diphthongs in a melismatic setting. Twelve professional singers’ — Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Bonney, Brigitte Fassbaender, Elly Ameling, Elisabeth Grümmer, Irmgard Seefried, Janet Baker, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Ferrier, Soile Isokoski, Marjana Lipovšek, Tamara Takács — pronunciation of these elements was studied via their recording of Frauenliebe und Leben between 1950 and 1997. Both descriptive statistical analysis methods and hierarchical cluster analysis were applied to the data. A reliability analysis was conducted using intra-category correlations and relative frequencies. This analysis indicated a reasonable degree of reliability. Descriptive statistical analysis methods yielded the result that the actual pronunciation of the professional singers, as evidenced by their recordings, was considerably more varied than what could be expected on the basis of normative or pedagogical norms. Hierarchical cluster analysis, too, showed that the professional singers shared the same category to a moderate degree. We may conclude that vocal pedagogical theory needs to be further developed, because pedagogical norms for pronunciation proved partially confusing and difficult to grasp. In addition, specific attention must be given to source critique. The actual pronunciation of professional singers challenges singing instructors to reflect on how they teach German pronunciation and what they can do to help their students develop the skills required for a critical listening of recordings. Tiivistelmä Eksperttilaulajien saksan kielen ääntämistä havainnoitiin Robert Schumannin (1810–1856) vuonna 1840 säveltämässä laulusarjassa Frauenliebe und Leben, ja ääntämistä tutkittiin suhteessa sekä saksan kirjakielen ääntämisnormistoon että pedagogiseen ääntämisnormistoon. Tutkimuksessa syvennyttiin myös ääntämisnormistojen välisen suhteen tarkasteluun. Saksan kirjakielen ääntämisnormisto perustui Theodor Siebsin reine Hochlautung -ääntämistapaan sekä Siebsin klassisen laulun ohjeistuksiin. Pedagoginen ääntämisnormisto eli klassisille laulajille osoitetut saksan kielen ääntämisen oppaat oli rajattu yhteentoista teokseen. Tutkittavana oli yksitoista saksan kielen elementtiä: konsonantit s, r, b, d, g, suffiksi -ig, kirjainyhdistelmä ng, kaksoiskonsonantit, konsonanttien yhdistäminen, vokaalien sitominen ja diftongit. Laulusarjan levyttäneitä eksperttilaulajia oli kaksitoista: Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Bonney, Brigitte Fassbaender, Elly Ameling, Elisabeth Grümmer, Irmgard Seefried, Janet Baker, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Ferrier, Soile Isokoski, Marjana Lipovšek ja Tamara Takács. Äänitteet olivat vuosien 1950 ja 1997 väliseltä ajalta. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin perinteisiä kuvailevia tilastollisia analyysimenetelmiä ja hierarkkista ryhmittelyanalyysia. Aineiston luotettavuutta tarkasteltiin reliabiliteettianalyysin avulla. Reliabiliteettianalyysi osoitti, että aineistolle saavutettiin kohtuullinen luotettavuus. Kuvailevien tilastollisten analyysimenetelmien tuloksena oli havainto, että eksperttilaulajien ääntäminen äänitteissä oli huomattavasti monimuotoisempaa kuin saksan kirjakielen ja pedagoginen ääntämisnormisto antoivat olettaa. Hierarkkinen ryhmittelyanalyysi puolestaan osoitti, että eksperttilaulajien sijoittuminen samaan ryhmään oli maltillista. Tutkimus vahvistaa käsitystä, että laulupedagogista teoriaa tulee tarkastella dynaamisena, alati muuttuvana ilmiönä. Tutkimuksen perusteella myös havaitaan, että eksperttilaulajien ääntäminen noudattaa laulupedagogiikassa käytettyjä ääntämisen ohjeistuksia vain osin. Eksperttilaulajien ääntämisen käytäntö täten haastaa laulupedagogit pohtimaan sitä, kuinka he itse opettavat saksan kieltä, ja sitä, kuinka he liittävät opetustyöhönsä äänitteiden kriittisen kuuntelemisen taidon ja lauluoppaiden kriittisen käytön.

An Imaginary Musical Road Movie revolves around two integrated objects: on the one hand, the programmatic and cyclic concept album Highway Rider (2010), which is jazz pianist and composer Brad Mehldau’s most complex instrumental work, and on the other hand transmediality, both as a concept and phenomenon. Musicologist Mats Arvidson claims that a deep understanding of an intermedial music culture is a prerequisite for knowing how to interpret a work like Highway Rider. Having such an intermedial framework at hand further enables the integration of formal and structural analysis with cultural, historical and technological aspects of music. In a captivating manner, Arvidson shows how Highway Rider circulates in and through different cultural systems, and in doing so, explains how, where and when musical meaning is produced. Highway Rider is understood as a transmedial phenomenon both through its genre-specificity and its narrative structure, that is, as an imaginary musical road movie whose story raises questions about the meaning of life. The study is addressed to musicologists interested in issues related to intermediality, as well as to researchers within the field of cultural studies, film studies, media studies, visual studies and comparative literature. The idea of ‘music alone’ as an independent auditory medium expressed in the institutions of today’s academia does not resonate with how we listen to and perceive music in everyday life; music is always accompanied with paratexts such as programme notes, LP sleeve images or other types of media. This idea forms the basis for this essay and is used to present a number of issues concerning meaning production: How, where and when is musical meaning produced? To be more specific, this essay deals with how an intermedial music culture can be described and analysed through one specific case study. Intermediality arises in the crossings between constructed media borders, which means that different aspects of a specific medium can be transgressed in various ways. Based on the American composer and jazz musician Brad Mehldau’s (1970–) most complex instrumental works, the concept album Highway Rider (2010), this essay explores how such an album can be understood within an intermedial music culture. It merges formal and structural analysis with cultural, historical, technological and psychoanalytic aspects of music emphasising the role of subjectivity in the production of meaning. By offering a varied and broad theoretical and methodological framework, the author demonstrates ways to approach the work using concepts like transmediality, intermedial reference, meta-reference, iconicity, semiotics, paratext, psychoanalysis and ecological psychology.

A lecture recital is a quintessential representation of the music student's knowledge and skill in a synthesis of performance and instruction. This thesis will encompass the extensive research and preparation necessary to perform a lecture recital about Robert Schumann's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman's Love and Life). This marvelous work is an excellent example of Schumann's enhancement of the song cycle genre. A standard work in soprano repertoire, Frauenliebe und Leben provides the opportunity for extensive musicality through vocal coloring, legato lines, ornamented turns, various phrasal structures, and clear dramatic direction. In addition to its rich history and theory, precise vocal technique and musical interpretation are necessary to present a successful performance of this piece.

The song genre constitutes a significant part of J. B. Foertser's work (around 350 songs). In the Czech musical context, Foerster is along with Vítězslav Novák considered a founder of modern Czech song. Despite its unquestionable significance, Foerster's song output remains an unexplored area in musicology. The aim of this diploma thesis is to contribute to the body of scholarship devoted to Foerster by focusing on this area of his work, which has not received adequate critical attention. The main part of the thesis consists of detailed musical-textual analyses of the song cycle Šest písní na básně Puškinovy op. 161 (1937). Through the analyses, the thesis examines the composer's approach to the setting texts to music and points out the qualities of his work. The discussion gives an overview of Foerster's song output and outlines the main critical concerns in this area of his work. The last but one chapter of the thesis compares opus 161 with selected Foerster's song cycles from his previous work periods and an attempt is made to put the opus into the context of the composer's song output as a whole. In the conclusion, opus 161 is discussed in the context of the Czech and, more generally, European song productions.