JANACEK QUESTIONS, MISPRINTS, VARIANTS

It is not unusual to find discrepancies between the piano-vocal score of an opera and its full-orchestral score. There is even a greater chance of finding misprints or variants if a particular opera has been printed in editions by more than one publisher. This gets even more complicated when an opera has not only been revised several times by the composer, re-orchestrated and cut by another composer, and then published in two different countries.

Thus for Leos Janacek’s opera Jenufa (Jeji pastorkyna), I have already examined at least 12 completely different published editions and 7 sources autographed by Janacek or his copyists. This is a total of 19 copies of one opera, none of which is in complete agreement with any other! IS THIS PERHAPS A RECORD FOR THE LARGEST NUMBER OF DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF ANY ONE OPERA ?1?1? It is even normal that the four leading singers will show up at the same rehearsal with four different editions (not to mention possibly seven more editions for the other secondary roles!)
I have previously helped Universal Edition with corrections to the UE2000 vocal-score of Jenufa (corrected edition published in 2003), and I am still working on the many corrections to the 1996 full-score (Brno 1908 version) including corrections to the orchestral parts. I have been studying this particular opera since 1993, and I am constantly surprised at how every time I open the score I find some new curious detail, which is often a misprint or occasionally even just one of Janacek’s idiosyncrasies which previous conductors or editors have tacitly changed.

Every conductor looks at the music in a slightly different way, and therefore I am thankful to those of you who have helped me by pointing out questionable spots which you have already found. Before creating this blog, some of the conductors who have helped me with their advice and/or questions about Janacek operas have included Sir Simon Rattle, Arthur Fagen, Mark Stringer, and those with whom I have worked as assistant conductor including Bohumil Gregor, Jiri Belohlavek, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Leon Botstein. Special mention of course must be made to John Tyrrell and especially Sir Charles Mackerras who has long been my foremost inspiration. Already in 1993, the first recording I listened to of Jenufa was with Sir Charles, and it was his interpretation of Jenufa which led me to learn the Czech language and study Janacek operas in Prague and Brno.

PLEASE WRITE TO ME WITH YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ABOUT JANACEK OPERAS WHICH I WILL PUBLISH HERE.

best wishes,

Paul Mauffray

List of Sources to "Jenůfa"

Leoš Janáček’s “Jenůfa”
Chronological list of sources and abbreviations
including [old] & new signatures in Janáček Archive Brno


PL = original libretto by Gabriela Preissova, Šimaček edition, Prague 1891 L6

VS03 = authorized copy of vocal score as copied by J. Štross completed Jan. 25, 1903 [A 7426] & T 1 309

FS03 = authorized copy of full score as copied by J. Štross made in March 1903. (located only in Vienna)
At the end of Act II is written “corrected 10/1 1907” and initials “ L J ” Wien, L1 UE 376

OP = first set of orchestra parts from 1904 premier in Brno T I 306-308

KPp1 = first printed proof with corrections made by Janáček from December 1907 to
February 1908 (before publishing VS08) [A 7425] & T I 303

KPp2 = (all corrections mentioned in KPp1 appear already printed in this second proof) [A 7424] & T1 302

VS08 = piano vocal score by the “klub přátel umění” 1908.
This copy in the Janáček Archive was owned by Maria Calma Vesela [A 30.390] & T II 113

PFS = Prague full score copied by J. Košťalek in 1916. Unless otherwise noted, [A33.744] & T 1 301a-c
PFS always refers to original black ink (not Kovařovic’s retouching in red ink)

VS17 = second edition piano vocal score by “Umělecká Beseda”, Prague 1917
This copy was owned by Janáček but has markings in it by someone else. [A 11.470] & T II 111

KA17 = Universal edition piano vocal score by Jos. V. v. Wöss T II 85

FS18 = Universal edition of full score published August 24, 1918 (title page has 1917).
This copy shows in red ink what was original and removed by Kovařovic. [A 23.438] & T III 149

FS18bb = Universal edition of full score published August 24, 1918 (title page has 1917).
This copy in the Janáček Archive has markings in it by Břetislav Bakala. [A 39.736] & T III 130

HM34 = third edition piano vocal score by “Hudební matice” 1934
(further Czech editions such as 1942 and 1955 were based on HM34)

VS69 = UE piano-vocal score of Kovařovic version, published in 1969 by J.M. Dürr

FS69 = UE full-score of Kovařovic version, published in 1969 by J.M. Dürr [A 34.935] & T III 123

VS93 = UE piano-vocal score from 1993 which was discontinued and replaced by VS00 [A 54.309] & T II 354

FS96 = UE full-score of Brno 1908 version, published in 1996 [A 54.533] & T II 356

VS00 = UE piano-vocal score from 2000 which was discontinued and replaced by UE03

UE03 = UE piano-vocal score from 2003 (containing partial corrections by Paul Mauffray)

FS04 = reconstruction of original 1904 version by Marc Audus, UE 2003 [A 56.301] & T II 378

ChM = First recording by Sir Charles Mackerras based on Brno 1908 version (London/Decca)