Diary of One Who Vanished : A Song Cycle by Leos Janacek of Poems by Ozef Kalda

Diary of One Who Vanished
Author(s): Ozef Kalda, Leos Janacek

A Cycle of Love Songs Translated by the Nobel Laureate

"Dappled woodland light,
Spring well chill and bright,
Eyes like stars at night,
Open knees so white.
Four things death itself won't cover,
Unforgettable forever."

In 1917, while reading his local newspaper, the Czech composer Leos Janacek discovered the poems that he was to set to music in his song cycle Diary of One Who Vanished. Written by Ozef Kalda and published anonymously, they tell the story of a farmer's boy who abandons his home because he has fallen in love with a Gypsy. These new English versions by Seamus Heaney were commissioned by the English National Opera for a series of international performances, which opened in Dublin in October 1999.

Review(s):
“Pared to the bone in its simplicity . . . [it fills] the auditorium with the familiar cadences of folk song.” —The Economist

Alabama Children's Choice Book Award Master List, Long-listed Alabama Children's Choice Book Award ML, Long-listed Louisiana YR Choice Book Award Master List, Commended Parents' Choice Honor Books

ISBN:  9780374139230