Music for Prague 1968

Karel Husa (1921)

Movements

I. Introduction and Fanfare

II. Aria
III. Interlude
IV. Toccata and Chorale
Movement I – Introduction and Fanfare
Form:
ABA
Intro: mm 1-34
Fanfare/Exposition: mm 35-87
Recap: 88-99
Closing: 100-107

1. mm 1-34: Intro, Hussite Song, fragments in timpani

2. m 2: Piccolo solo (Bird call) – 12 tone row
3. m 3: 3 note dissonant chord in flute and clarinet
4. m 15 (Letter A): Dissonant chord again, in clarinets
5. m 21: Dissonant chord again in clarinets
6. m 29 (Letter B): Dissonant chord in horns, trombones, tubas
7. mm 30-34: 12 tone row, bari sax
8. m 35 (Letter C): Fanfare/Distress call, “A” material, in trumpets, derived from Hussite
Song (especially 4th trumpet, with a modified intervals)
9. m 41: 16th note rhythmic motif in trumpets, to be used later in fragments
10. mm. 44 (Letter D) - 59: 16th note motif developed, in fragmentation, variation, first in
upper woodwinds at 45 and 46, trumpets in 47-50, horns and baritones in 51
11. m 57: Rhythmic motif in full form for 1 measure
12. m 60 (Letter E): “B” theme, rhythmic motif as ostinato
13. mm 62-68: Combination of both Hussite song and Dissonant chord
14. m 65-75: Ostinato jumps around the ensemble
15. m 74-75: Hussite song in trumpets, low brass, ass presented in 2nds and 3rds
16. m 81: Chaos section, leading to a tonal recapitulation
17. m 88 (Letter H): Unison D, tonal recapitulation (work is centered around D)
18. mm 90-97: Hussite song again in timpani, texture diminishes to practically nothing
19. m 99: Chime sounds, representing the towers of Prague
20. mm 100-107: Piccolo solo, reminiscent of bird call of intro, but less rhythmically active
Research and Background

A. Karel Husa
a. Born in 1921 in the Prague, the Czech Republic. He played piano and violin at an
early age, and eventually enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1939. This was
partly to avoid being drafted by the German army. While there, he studied both
conducting and composition. In 1947 he received a fellowship from the French
government to study in Paris with Arthur Honegger (a member of Les Six) as well
as Natalie Boulanger.
Because of a communist takeover of the Czech Republic he was unable to return
home and instead accepted a position at Cornell University in New York in 1954.
He was responsible for teaching composition, and conducting as well as leading
the orchestra. During this time he also traveled extensively, guest conducting with
orchestras in the US as well as parts of Europe and Asia. He became conductor of
the Ithaca Chamber Orchestra as well.
Husa became a US Citizen in 1959. By this time, many of his compositions were
being performed both in the US as well as abroad. He wrote many major
compositions in the 1960’s including his Divertimento for Brass Ensemble, String
Quartet No. 3, and of course Music for Prague 1968.
He is the recipient of many honors and awards including two Guggenheim
Fellowships (1964, 1965), the Pulitzer Prize (1969), the Friedheim Award of the
Kennedy Center (1983) and the Grawemeyer Award (1993). He was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1994, and was awarded the Gold Medal
of Merit of the Czech Republic in 1995.
He is still alive today, having celebrated his 90th birthday in October of this year.
B. Music for Prague
a. Background: Music for Prague 1968 was commissioned by the Ithaca College
Concert Band and composed during the summer and fall of 1968 for the capital of
Czechoslovakia. Husa was in America and had been listening to the radio, with
the news of the crushing of the Prague Spring movement, which was essentially a
movement for freedom of rights for the Czech people. After the failure of the
movement, the Russians were so angry that they sent thousands of troops to
occupy the country until 1990. There was no military resistance. He was so
moved by the events that transpired that he wrote this work to memorialize the
events. The work was premiered by the commissioning ensemble in Washington,
D.C., on January 31, 1969. 1

The composition uses three main ideas throughout. The first and most prominent
is the Hussite war song from the 15th century. The Hussite Wars took place
around the period of 1419-1434. Also known as the Bohemian Wars, tensions

1
Karel Husa, Music for Prague 1968, notes from the score
began to rise when news of the death of Jan Hus reached Prague. Hus was a
priest, philosopher, and perhaps one of the first church reformists. He was killed
for heresy of doctrines against the Catholic Church. The Hussites were followers
of Jan Hus. Knights and Nobles alike sent letters to the church in protest of this
social and religious injustice. The Holy Emperor in return wrote back the promise
of harm to the Hussites, which greatly angered the people. Many battles were
fought between the Hussite infantry and the much more heavily armored knights
of the Holy Roman Empire, with great success on the part of the Hussites. The
war itself was quite inconclusive, with the lands of Bohemia having been left
devastated. The war song itself was sung so strongly during many of these battles
that is actually became a weapon of fear.

The second idea is the sound of bells, as Prague is known as the City of a
Hundred Spires. These bells have been used to sound distress as well as victory.

The third idea is a motif of a dissonant 3 note chord first heard in the flute,
clarinets and horns in the beginning.

Other ideas that Mr. Husa himself suggests include lots of symbolism (distress
calls in the fanfare, the Hussite Song, and a bird call in the piccolo solo in
movement one, which is a symbol of liberty of which Prague has seen very little
of) There is also fairly extensive use of 12 tone rows throughout the composition,
and tonally centers around D.
 Works Cited

Husa, Karel. Music for Prague 1968. Associated Music Publishers, 1969.
Husa, Karel. “Music for Prague 1968.” 1970.
Classical Archives. “Music for Prague 1968, for Concert Band.”
http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/299244.html (accessed Nov. 21, 2011).
Wikipedia. “Music for Prague 1968.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Prague_1968
(accessed Nov. 21, 2011).
Youtube. “Czech hussite choral.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiYzysQKqGI (accessed
Nov. 21, 2011).
University of Florida Wind Symphony. “Music for Prague 1968, I. Introduction and Fanfare.”
On Raise the Roof. Mark Records 7630-MCD. 2008. CD.