The Dances from 17th and 18th Centuries

Twenty years ago, Josef Krček and the ensemble Musica Bohemica made three landmark recordings that conveyed to the listener genuine treasures from the oldest collections of Czech folk songs and dances. More than at any other time, in the 17th and 18th centuries folk songs mingled with the music heard in churches and aristocrats’ courts; after all, it was played by the very same musicians, teachers and folk bands. These songs and dances have been preserved owing to the official collection carried out in 1818 in the governorates of the Austrian Empire, as well as sources compiled by collectors in various corners of Bohemia – either folk musicians (e.g. the fiddler Ondřej Hůlka in the Zlatá Koruna area), or churches (e.g. 17th-century dances noted down by the chronicler of the Cistercian Order at Velehrad, Kristian Hirschmentzel). A versatile musician and composer, Jaroslav Krček has arranged the songs with his singular signature and a sense for the uniqueness of every one of them.