Bouquet of Czech Folk Songs, op. 41, B72

This cycle is set to the texts of Czech and Moravian folk songs and was written for a cappella male choir. We are not sure of the precise date the songs were written, however, they did appear during the three-year period (1876-1878) in which the composer wrote the large majority of his choral works. The songs have a simple and largely homophonic texture and essentially observe the strophic nature of the original texts. Their mood is somewhat reminiscent of the Moravian Duets, with the exception of the song “The Czech Diogenes”, which should perhaps be seen more as a musical jest. The premiere of the first two parts of the cycle was entrusted to Leos Janacek, who included them in concerts organised by the Beseda brnenska choral society in 1878.