the earth trembled
$40.00
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LEOŠ JANÁČEK / LEO TOLSTOY / VÍTĚZSLAVA KAPRÁLOVÁ
the earth trembled
Signum Quartett
[ Pentatone / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 4 September 2026
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Signum Quartett presents the album the earth trembled, recontextualising the visionary string quartets of Leoš Janáček alongside the striking String Quartet Op. 8 by Vítězslava Kaprálová. Janáček's lifelong engagement with folk traditions shaped these works profoundly; he lays bare an extraordinary spectrum of feeling, exposing the innermost reaches of his psyche with an almost unsettling immediacy, music in which the earth really does tremble. Set against this, Kaprálová's quartet offers balance: a strikingly youthful yet assured voice emerging from the same cultural milieu, opening an equally compelling emotional range. Interspersed throughout are fragments of Janáček's folk song arrangements and intimate miniatures from his album for Kamila Stösslová, whose absent voice subtly haunts the programme, weaving a fragile, imagined narrative between the works.
This recording offers a fresh perspective on works that have accompanied the Quartett for many years and remain among the most emotionally overwhelming in the repertoire. Signum Quartett is frequently hailed as one of the most adventurous and outstanding ensembles of today. This is the quartet's fourth album with PENTATONE, after the Schubert cycle including Aus der Ferne (2018), Ins stille Land (2020), and Lebensmuth (2023).
Tracks:
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Moravian Folk Poetry in Song (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
Moravian Folk Poetry in Song - 1:17
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Album for Kamila Stösslová, JW VIII/33 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
So that one could nevermore go back - 0:59
My infinite happiness - 0:11
I'm waiting for you! - 0:47
LEO TOLSTOY - Waltz in F Major (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
Waltz in F Major - 1:10
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata" (1923)
I. Adagio - Con moto - 4:06
II. Con moto - 4:17
III. Con moto - Vivace - Andante - Tempo I - 4:20
IV. Con moto - 5:21
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Moravian Folk Poetry in Song (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
38. Parting - 1:26
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Album for Kamila Stösslová, JW VIII/33 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
I will await you at the promised time! - 0:13
Oh for one certain look into the future! - 0:20
VÍTĚZSLAVA KAPRÁLOVÁ - String Quartet, Op. 8 (1936)
I. Con brio - 8:03
II. Lento - 9:04
III. Allegro con variazioni - 7:37
VÍTĚZSLAVA KAPRÁLOVÁ - Vteřiny (Seconds), Op. 18 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
With a white kerchief he waves - 1:23
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Album for Kamila Stösslová, JW VIII/33 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
All the colours of the rainbow - 0:18
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Moravian Folk Poetry in Song (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
29. Love letter - 0:48
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Album for Kamila Stösslová, JW VIII/33 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
Merely blind fate? - 1:01
Kamila, darling Kamilka, only now do I feel what love is - 0:16
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters" (1928)
I. Andante - 5:55
II. Adagio - 6:31
III. Moderato - 5:49
IV. Allegro - 7:48
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Album for Kamila Stösslová, JW VIII/33 (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
Oh come, come, you longed-for moment! - 0:12
Golden Ring - 0:15
LEOŠ JANÁČEK - Moravian Folk Poetry in Song (Arr. Xandi van Dijk)
17. For whom the flower - 1:59
