Dvořák - 4 Songs, Op. 2/B. 124 (Transcribed for Cello and Piano)

Like the Love Songs, Op.83, this song cycle began as part of the Cypresses, an 18-song cycle from 1865. The dedicatee of Cypresses was quite critical of Dvořák's unidiomatic treatment of the text, so Dvořák ended up recomposing many of the songs, splitting them up into 2 cycles.

The current cycle of 4 songs was erroneously assigned Op. 2, the same

Like the Love Songs, Op.83, this song cycle began as part of the Cypresses, an 18-song cycle from 1865. The dedicatee of Cypresses was quite critical of Dvořák's unidiomatic treatment of the text, so Dvořák ended up recomposing many of the songs, splitting them up into 2 cycles.

The current cycle of 4 songs was erroneously assigned Op. 2, the same opus number as the first string quartet. The revision of these songs happened around 1882. Songs Nos. 1, 2, and 4 hold a very close resemblance to their Cypress counterparts. The second song, "Oh, It Was a Lovely, Golden Dream," is magical with its added-second harmonies and left-hand counterpoint giving a musical image of a dream. The third song, "My Heart Often Broods in Pain," was completely recomposed into an otherworldly beauty with an almost constant heartbeat. This new version of the song is melodically and harmonically related to the "Song to the Moon" from his 1900 opera Rusalka.

Contents: 1. You ardent songs, go forth through the night (Vy vroucí písně spějte) 2. Oh, it was a lovely, golden dream (Ó byl to krásný zlatý sen) 3. My heart often broods in pain (Mé srdce často v bolesti) 4. On the mountains quiet (Na horách ticho)