The Czech anthem is the song Kde domov můj, whose first verse is the national anthem of the Czech Republic. It is one of six state symbols, together with the state coats of arms, the tricolour, the state flag, the presidential flag and the state seal. The law provides that it is used in a suitable and dignified manner, for example on state holidays and other fitting occasions. [4]
Origin and spread
The song was first heard on 21 December 1834 at the Estates Theatre in Prague, in the farce Fidlovačka, aneb žádný hněv a žádná rvačka. The music was composed by František Škroup and the text written by Josef Kajetán Tyl. The song was sung by Karel Strakatý in the role of a blind fiddler. According to historians, it would have fallen into oblivion without his continued singing of it. [1][4]
As early as the following year it was published in the collection Věnec zpěvů vlasteneckých and was sung in schools, in families and in amateur theatres. Among those who spread it was also the singer Jan Křtitel Píšek, who, according to Czech Radio, sang it in Frankfurt and in London at the royal court. [1][4]
According to the literary scholar Ferdinand Strejček, the first verse describes specific places, namely the Nusle valley, today part of Prague. The song has four verses, but only the first is the anthem. The version sung in Slovak is called Domov Slováka, and the song was also adopted by Bulgarians, who sing all four verses. [3]
Authorship and the manuscript
According to Czech Radio, the authorship of Tyl and Škroup is beyond dispute. Markéta Kabelková, an employee of the Czech Museum of Music, described the similarity of the melody to a motif from a Mozart wind symphony as purely coincidental and said that Škroup cannot be accused of plagiarism. [4]
The theatre department of the National Museum holds a record of the song that was for almost ninety years treated as an autograph of Tyl and Škroup. While preparing a publication for the 180th anniversary of the premiere, Václav Štěpán voiced doubt that Tyl wrote the text, because the handwriting differs from the undisputed manuscript of Fidlovačka in the Plzeň archive. The Společnost pro písmoznalectví examined the manuscript with forensic methods. Comparison of the musical notation with Škroup's score gave an unclear result and the examination has not been concluded. [4]
Recordings
One of the oldest surviving recordings of the Czech anthem dates from 1900. [4] The government presented new recordings in 2008, on Czech Statehood Day, 28 September, in the Pantheon of the National Museum. At the initiative of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek they were prepared by the chorus of the opera of the National Theatre and the National Theatre Orchestra under Jiří Bělohlávek. Four performances were made: a female solo by Kateřina Kněžíková, a male solo by Adam Plachetka, a choral version and an orchestral version. The disc is part of the publication Kde domov můj?, which also contains historical recordings from 1908 to 1951. [1][2]