v +t cleellGunicheds Freeh = Thalia d- os Wat Ger js Czech with Cheek / } t f ; Hy bly intloeded ly al © Czech is a very bright language, so sing all vowels accordingly, including [a]. Purerawils © Consonants are unaspirated, like Italian. - Fitslest /iressisvalways omthesfirstsyllablep Stress and length work independently of one ¢ another. What looks like an accent mark is a lengthening mark, which carries stress only } i] > _ if itis on the first syllable. Thus, “Jandéek” is pronounced “Janaaéek,” short-long-short, & with the accent on the first syllable. Long syllables average twice the length of short Bijan atfek) »S ones. “= |e Sometimes in your music, you need to “bend” the rhythms a litle to account for short and K Jong vowels. [n]___ For this sound make sure you do not sing [nj}. [n] is pronounced as in Italian “ogni” [oni] (and not [onji]). Keep the tip of the tongue touching the bottom teeth, and ° let the middle rise to form the sound. (Italian “sognamo,” “we dream” is [sonamo], a“ different from “soniamo,” “we sound” [sonjamo]. The Czech distinction is also crucial!) \/ \ tl N fr) Form this sound the same way, with the tip of the tongue on the bottom teeth. Do Y not sing [tj]. dy cy (ay v “This is the same as above, only voiced. For those who have sung Russian, note that the above sounds are different from Russian. ‘Unlike Russian, @zéch has no palatalized consonantsy The above sounds are palatal, not palatalized. The tip of the tongue must stay down: ashi \ eee i siAih? ( & & [f] This is voiced. Try singing a rolled *r"”and’(3))(as in French “je”) 7 en ao © simultaneously, but without pursing the lips~a smile is better. Keep it short, ang try to w“4/" f relax! uses wed /inben le ( [R) This is the unvoiced version. Sing an diivGieed rolledithand’ff(as in “she”) at the same time. Many find this version easier than the voiced one. von ie K Ir] This “r"is vocalic. When the note is fairly short, itis simply rolled. When the note is fairly long, you must begin singing a schwa [a] before moving to the rolled “r.” © — = aN UI] This “I” is also vocalic, but it must never be preceded by a schwa, even if the note « is long. Unlike the vocalic “I” in English, as in “cradle,” the Czech vocalic “I” is very > forward. Like TL AA MY" We Bella [x] Not nearly as far back as German “ach,” but not as far forward as German “ich.” It’s right in-between. ch= DB] wot gt ft c(a2e§ / fl Czech “h” is considered voiced. In a word like “hnut,” it will sound like there is sap, Mick Schwa beween the “hand.” Ven icgd BL ae Aspire ted PKG Cetneee glottals, mostly before words beginning with a vowel. Most words begin with consonsants, so Czech is actually very legato, Have fun!t!! Hid pelo Arace raked in aahely har A Mee do. bra du “2 Voice) os Ursin) consiatct> ( \ inttusee the poeeedig is te. Wteveteed CA YT Chromed Cp eT\ 1. Stress and length Fixed stress on the first syllable Length and stress work independently + a2] : Ja - na -&ek Liana} ek y 0 -ron™ (ou S — * & > per, drahdé dréha rand réna kruté krita OD an expensive railroad anearly blow —acruel turkey Yo a) oS : usirojt iistrojt até pata they decorate the organ afifth heel a ‘Prepositions take over:initial stress Se _mnow is pronounced as if they were one {with me} [se _ mnou} word: semnow —— Kony ath No stress: Enclitics (reflexive si/sa; pronouns mi, ti,ete.; etc,) Early problems with Czech verse: base on stress or length? a er \ i .. The Czech vows Bright, Italianate Geta of Dake ‘a4 [a] Mé vlast (My country) €,€ [e] _veselé {cheerful] Always open, also 2 is open and short f/9f-ealishe omit [to have}; mst {to wash} iy [i] list leafl; psy (dogs) Contrast byt {to bel/byt [apartment] 0,6 [0] _ okno [window] Chit] Cora] u, ad fu) Cry mary fa oak Diphthongs: ou [ou] Hezounka Bystrouska [ou] when slow x egal sheess, Also ew and au fo[o] UT The glide j Ne Mari (marjr) poezie {poezije) se SpA Jjedu (jedu] d. y . ee yw bee piijdu (pusdu) mij [mut] (Like French soleil (sole']) de ['de} jsem ('sem} Gute bE fé pé ve béda {woe!} [bjeda] = like Italian (bhyra, fiero, pietra, vieni) Tees] byt me} } f shee KA _— eS a = The glottal sp 1 97 Before every word that(B@ginsiWhith/@ Vowel (even after preposition: z okna [s_?akna]) nes, ej! neuvéFitelny [incredible] __ nejuitlejat {the most delicate] “After prefixes: poucit [po?ui]it] [to enlighten] Compound words: modrooky A Vocalicr —Stré prst skrz krk. Vocalic | vik [wolf] 3. The Czech consonants Italianate: forward; unaspirated ‘Nojpalatalized.consonants; unlike Russian Decoy “SS beéddfghchkimni présstrvzz (x, tA ft oy or § OB Bewv ial: b, p,m. 5 Iveolar: d,t,n (almost dental) Soft Palatal: GQ) In] ni, nf, né, vi, me Like Italian and French. Contrast Italian soniamo {we ring] _[sonjamo] sognamo [we dream] [sopamo] oni [Romi] 1 / (i sated ee record) nnyni (aunt) Consima te Jemné [jempe} ‘pisert tpi:sep) vated —5°"9 (oS worl mési¢ku (mpesi} ku} QU) 08, 0,7 (Correct” IPA is [c}) té[t'e) nifty) at’ [Pat’} Caech prover’: Nebut’ labu’) — Aan be a swAm 3) [a] di, de, dé,’ (‘Correct” IPA is [j]) détnik (delpick] déti [d'et't] / Ldid. didn =~ LOZLabiodental Fricatives: f, v (w) Velar: k, g, ch [x], nk/ng [n] k and g are similar to Spanish, i.e., further back than in Italian and French ‘maminka {mamika] ch is a letter of the Czech alphabet, pronounced in-between the German ich and ach Laryngeal Fricative: h (fi) Always voiced has (filas) 2 Hluboké [2 _ 8,2, 8[f) 213] Varies from flipped to rolled, depending on expression. darek —krdsné Voiced Alveolar Vibrant: ¥ [¥] Voiced rolled r + voiced [3] simultaneously, without the lip-rounding of [3]. Starting point isasmile. fekni [fekpt] Unvoiced Alveolar Vibrant: + [Rt] Unvoiced rolled r + unvoiced [J] simultaneously, without lip-rounding. [een [pRicbrtk] haf (ac) re soos) (ae Practicing different combinations: prac: ch beginning a word —chcu [xisu] (Try adding a vowel before and removing it: achcu Book where Voicing occurs; which pitch: Make ure you sing namereg and notmanne> 4, line uptu/filelse 4, Double Consonants Basically double consonants are pronounced as'ones! panna, cinnost ‘When in doubt, and if possible, sing two: Mém mnoho nado tep pouze When singing double consonants, the ideal is to repeat the consonants. Otherwise, pronounce as in Italian, . Assimilation “Czech mates’ Voiced and unvoiced pairs _(h and ch make up a voiced/unvoiced pair) [hy CX‘ ; A struh [pstrux] ‘/Consonants yield the right of way! kdo [do] vztah [fstax] ‘ ‘isan exception: It can change to [f], but cannot cause others consonants to change: 40 svatba [svadba] Final paired consonants devoice: bez [bes] Since prepositions join with the following word so strongly, only their final consonants will remain voiced before the unpaitedyfmympandriiiny od matky [204 matkt] [from the mother] WPYITENO letvorrightmar pitbytek obFad Singing in Czech: A Guide to Czech Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, with a foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras, by Timothy Cheek (Scarecrow Press) (de, a ’ cor enceCoa srdei, toma fay. What's in the heart is onthe tongue,) (Cech adage 2 Czech Pronunciation and Inflection Czech Lyric Diction and the Iphabet (IPA) International Phonetic Al; IPA Czech spetting ry fa) a fel & up fat 1 de,egee 181 ae (] ¢ fae leg in ty gk heh ke S0) blow. Very coe to the Eat ex cy a a2 a io) 0 uo (ml) oo) bw 1 bl ro iy tn a © i © wl & ici uw bw 0 ta wl Bi ® t sz a2 ud Benda é a0 ve ch ehh a 2s Vowels Chapter2 ‘See (5) below; glide to a consonant or as an of-gide, ‘asin the French gle! [sle!} Spanish comer (Almost dental) Italian liguido—not like Russian! ‘The same, but vocal (with no preceding Schwa!) English music (Almost dental) Italian naso (Never (nj! Kalian ogni Further boc than English drink, sing British hor (The same, long) Utalian prego Italian caro oF carro— roll depending on expression Italian morrd—if the author believes an ris particularly ‘expressive, then he has marked it [x] ‘Vocalicrolied r; unlike a voralic it should begin With @schwa f the noe is relatively long See (8) below. No equivalents, voiced See (8) below. No equivalents, unvoiced Taian sono German Sehule (Almost dental) Italian renere ‘ee (7) below; absolutely NOT [] English cas, German zu Brighter than English cheek ‘Similar to English pool (The same, long, and only slightly more closed) Italian vino In between German ich and ach ‘Spanish agua. Ths sa voiced Czech [x] Taian casa French fe (1) Glottals are really not very fequent, but in Czech they must be observed, ‘with very few exceptions. The symbol is (7. @) The Czech fa] end all other vowels are bright, lke Italian. Czech is the brightest ofall the Slavic languages and contrasts greatly with Russian in overall, sound(Czech Promuncaton and Inflection « {G) There is no closed {e} sound in Czech, only its open [e] counterpart. Be es- pecially careful not to close final e's, particularly inthe word se. (4) The open {1} represents a sound that is a shade more open than the very closed Czech [i]. It sts high and bright. The difference between [1] and [i] is similar to the dstinetion in German. Slovaks and Moravians tend to close even the short i, but formal Czech, particularly in Bohemia, opens the short i. This should be very apparent from listening to native Czech singers, where, for ex- ‘ample, bt {apartment} and bs [to be] sound very much like the English bit and. ‘beat, respectively. (Recorded examples can also be heard in Singing in Czech.) Cacchs speak of quantitative (vowel length) differences in their vowels, not {qualitative ones, but this distinction was made very clear to the author by the Czech conductor Bohumil Gregor, who explained the qualitative difference between these two vowels and insisted that they always be clear. Also the a thor experienced a perfect lesson on these two vowels during rehearsals of the twenty-seventh production of Prodand nevésta atthe Prague National Theatre. ‘The opera was rehearsed witha triple cast of singers. Certain singers who were Slavic but not Czech sang every i, vf, and with the same closed quality, (i, a8 if they were singing in Talian. The difference in their pronunciation end the native Czechs was obvious, and the non-Czechs were repeatedly corrected by the native Czech conductor and the native Czech diction coach to sing i and y ‘open (1). This difference should be kept clear in Jeni, even though it uses Mo- ravian dialect. (3) The quick on-glide ( in words like jméno ('memno), /deme (deme), ete, ‘must be pronounced on the stage, with one exception. With the conjugation of the verb fo be, unless the verb begins a sentence, itis perfectly permissible, and usually preferable, o omit the j before a consonant: sem (1am) [sem] _Jsme (oe are) [sme] Jsi (you ate [st] ste (you, plural, ae) [ste] sou (they are) (sou) (inje, *helsheit is,’ the j must be pronounced because it comes before a vowel.) ‘This omission of j occurs especially when the conjugated form ofthe verb fo Be is part of a compound verb, as in volaljsem (I called), vola!jsi (you called), volt jame (we called), volaljste (you, plural, called) Again, if the form of 0 be begins a sentence, thej should be pronounced:? (sem ras) Isem réd (V'm glad)“ Chapter? In negative forms of to be, the j must be pronounced, as in nejsi (you are not) {ne'st). The / must also be prosounced in forms of to be if the word is empha- sized (with never a glotal before it) {onus ted sem} ‘Mpslim, ted jsem (Lthink, therefore Iam) Consonants (©) The Czech consonants are forward and unaspirated, very much like Italian. (7) The sounds fn}, (}, and {t] must be softened before the letter ior f. The fol- lowing symbols forthe three sot consonants are used: Wl fe) (e1 ‘The more precise IPA for these three sounds is: i &) fe ‘As explained in Singing in Czech, this author has chosen to use [2’] and [t'] because they are the preferred symbols used by Czech linguists and are easier to ‘equate with the sounds they represent. For those singers who have sung in Rus- sian, note that these Czech palatal sounds are different from Russian palatalized consonants in sound and in formation—all taree Czech sounds being formed with the tip of the tongue touching the bottom teeth. Czech has no palatalized consonants. To be especially avoided is the substitution of (nj), [i], and [¢] for these sounds (8) The pronunciation ofthe Czech written Fis shown as follows: [tl represents the voiced sound Ry represents the unvoiced sound ‘Remember that although [Fs often described as the simultaneous pronunciation of rolled r and [3] (end forthe unvoiced {R) of an unvoiced rolled rand {fit is ‘only one sound. For example, the word mofe [sea] must not sound like morse. ‘The position from which to learn this sound is a smile, not rounded lips. Both sounds are fully explained and demonstrated on a CD by native Czech singers in ‘Singing in Czech, along with exercises. (9) The Czech sound {6}, as opposed to the English {his a voiced sound, one that abways as a pitch. (I isnot [x], and it has no aspiration!) When it comes. before « consonant, think of it as a quick grace note, with a schwa [a] on the(Czech Pronunciation and Infletion 4s an stow te abe never ceding 8, fr amp, Lac a ‘mn Act Ill of Jena: ad Pe ° PO = 2th ‘The 6 is sung very quickly a“6 Chapter? (1) Double consonants, when performed similarly to Italian, are shown with » colon in the IPA: i. Isyfiem + mim) sedeem — mgm Otherwise, the sounds are rearticulated, or if there is no time, then pronounced ‘as only one consonant, (See the chapter “Double Consonants” in Singing in Czech) (12) The Czech [x] is not as far back asthe German [x], nor as fer forward asthe German [g]. Czech linguists use the symbol [x] to represent their sound that isin between the two German ones. (13) Czech consonants work in voiced and unvoiced pairs, so that according to rules of assimilation, for example, a k could be pronounced (k] or (a, depending fon context. This is why you will see, for example, the word jaf (how) almost always pronounced (jak), but if there are words immediately aftr it beginning with certain voiced consonants, then itis pronounced [jag], as in jak bych mel. ‘There are clear-cut strict rules, and it usually depends on whether the music is legato or not. (One rule is that nothing changes before a v. svét is pronounced [svjet), not [zyjet]. This is different from Italian, where svago is pronounced [zvago]. See “Assimilation” in Singing in Czech. Also see “Moravian Dialect,” below. (14) Consonants are pronounced as printed on the page—i-e, voiced consonants ‘must be sung on the correct pitches. So, for example, na mne must not be sung. nam ne. The m must be sung on the same pitch 8s ~ne, and not on the pitch of nna, Every sound is pronounced as it looks on the pag, lining up with the appro- priate pitch, as shown in (9) above, with the voiced [f]. On the other hand, tuvoiced consonants do not have pitches, soit is often easier to think of them being sung with preceding syllables. For example, Jendfa sings in her Act II prayer: ‘This is pronounced: (m_k _ tobjel ‘The preposition k joins with its object, as shown by the slur in the IPA. How- ever, since k has no vowel and in this case is not voiced—pronounced as [k]—(Czech Promuncation and Inflection a then itis easier to think of it as linked with the preceding word my: yk — oo ‘Again, voiced consonants must be sung on their designated pitches, but unvoloed consonants can be sung anywhere that is the most expedient and sil clear. (15) Despite the predominance of consonants, they are not used for expression in the same way as German or English. Emphasizing words comes mainly from the length of the vowels—the longer a long vowel i held, the stronger the word. Occasionally, normally short vowels are lengthened for expression. For conso- nants, the main exception is r, which can be flipped, slighty rolled, or rolled ‘ery strongly, all depending on the feelings of the speaker/singer. In this book, supercharged words with rs are marked inthe IPA as im ‘This indicates a long, expressive roll. Singers should feel free, however, to roll any rs in words that move thera! ‘Two other consonants tend to be lengthened for expression. They are [s] and [[], especially if they are between vowels. (16) Czech is a very legato language, more so than English or German! There are relatively few glottals, and the consonant clusters, through natural assimila- tion, are usually all unvoiced or all voiced. Enjoy the Italianate vowels spiced ‘with quick, clear, expressive consonants, and aim fora beautiful legato line, Inflection (1) Czech stress is always on the first syllable, except for prepositions and their ‘objects. In those cases, the preposition takes over the inital stress (if it has ‘vowel!), and the two words are pronounced as one. In the IPA, this is shown with a slr: (ve _ mline] ve mijn ‘The words ve mbné (in the mil), then, are pronounced as if the two words were written as one, vemijné, with the stress on ve. The slur is shown in the IPA even.(Czech Pronunciation and Infleton ® if here is glottal ((2), asin leu _ Poli) ku old (10 the altar) ‘Along with other languages that have fixed stress, such as French, Czech stress is gentle (2) Length in Czsch is a separate issue from stress. Long vowels are clearly ‘marked by the édrka—what looks like an accent mark—over the vowel, and are generally about twice as long as short vowels. The longer the long vowels are held, the stronger the word becomes. The letter u can have a ddrka ora krowsek (ltt crete) over its long version, asin Jena, The IPA used to indicate length {sa special colon after the long sound: Ganaifek) Tandéck In Jantek’s name (as well as Jet's), the stress is on the short first syllable, followed by a long unstressed syllable, followed by a short syllable, making for 1 syncopation: Inv goy tiki ae. oy ee ‘The one diphthong native to the Czech language, ou, as in vzpominkou, Jong syllable. In musical passages, composers usually account for short and long syllables, However, in recitaive and free passages, singers often need to “bend” sythms to obtain the right inflection. So, for example, when the Ste sings the following notes that Jandéek notated with equal quarters, singers will need to ‘change the rhythms slightly forthe proper inflection. Janek wrote: p= Whom kee oe ei mt ‘The short-iong rhythm, with stress on the short syllable, isthe most common in Czech. In this particular passage, the orchestra has dropped out, not coming in ‘again until zu, thus leaving the singer free to inflect the words that are mostly (on a repeated E. Singing exact quarters would nat sound Czech, The correct in-se Chapter? ‘lection here will result in something more like: > = SS This bending of rhythms is not unlike align recitative, where a stream of ‘equal eighth notes on the page tansltes to long and short note values when the inflection is delivered naturally. Usually, this bending of rhythms is subtle enough-—depending on the tempo—that it cannot be writen precisely, which is Why the composer left the infletion up tothe singer. In Czech, mispronouncing 1 vowel long of short ean completely alter the meaning of the word, change its ‘grammatical funetion, or make the word unintelligible, The “short-long” rhythm, especially, is one ofthe Czech language's distinguishing characteristics. Inflection in Jeniifa Overall, the Czech in Jenifa is set very idiomatically—fistsyllable stresses occur on strong beats, and long vowels are set longer than short vowels. However, there are many places where Jandtek leaves it up tothe singer to alter ‘the rhythms for inflection. This goes way beyond the free passage cited above, fas most of these places are with orchestra. For example, when the chorus of Recruits enters with Steva in Act I se. iv, Jandsek writes this for both Steva’s solo lines and forthe chorus: However, both Steva and the whole chorus of male singers sing the following instead: A formes icles = ai Jandek’s orchestral textures and overall style allow the freedom for singers to bend rhythms, and itis absolutely crucial that they do so. Even when the or- cchestra doubles the singer, singers ean often sill bend rhythms. For example, after Jenifa’s prayer in Act I, she sings the following:(Czech Pronunciation and Inflection si Ww jm tee we mys ott Even though a solo bassoon plays straight triplets with Jen, and even plays the same pitches (an octave below) on ve mbjné, singers still bend the rhythm (on the last triplet only!) and sing something lke: a Ww ite be ‘Of course, in this case the chythm in the celli adds to the raythmic mix, so that the singer i feer than it might seem at fist oo ‘The lesson is that whenever possible singer should bend shythms iff Jandck has not already notated short and long vowels. How much depends on the context, especially tempo. The bending can vary from very subtle to very ‘obvious. Jandéek's whole aesthetic is bound with the natural inflection of the ‘Cecch language and the emotions that are tied to them. Given the prose libretto, ‘es well, the differentiation of short and long vowels is crucial. Of course, the fixed frst-syllable stress must never be altered. Pronunciation Checklist “The following is a final Check/Czech list to guard against common Anglicisms {in formal Czech lyric pronunciation: (1) Are the [a} and other vowels bright, like Italian, along with Italianate unas- pirated, forward consonants? They should be! @) Are all e's—<, e, é—open [e]? Make sure, especially, that all final e's are ‘open, such as in the word se. G) Make sure that every me is pronounced {mne], This is one of the few non- phonetic issues in formal Czech, and itis very important.(4) Is every dn, and # softened when it occurs before an if (except for foreign- derived words)? Remember “I Did, Didn't I?” in chapter 2 of Singing in Czech (Cheek 2015, 46-47)! (5) Areal vocalic rs rlled long enough? (6) Is every [A] voiced? In consonant clusters, approach them as grace notes. Also, make sure {fi} and [x] are two very different sounds! The {6} sound is also ‘unaspirated! (7) Remember that final his pronounced [x] (8) Make sure that s between vowels is pronounced [s], and not [2]. Do not con- fuse this with Italian and French pronunciation. (9) Make sure not to carry over German rules into Czech: for example, initial 1 's sung [sl], and not (1). Czech (x) is more forward than in German. (10) Look carefully atthe hythm and stress to make sure that your first-syllable (11) Where the music allows fort, bend sythms to accommodate long vowels. This i en important part of Czech inflection, and the music often allows fort (12) Make sure thatthe Czech diphthong ow is not pronounced asin the English word ouch. Think more like the English hope, with two clear vowel, (13) Are you observing the glottals? These come naturally to Czech singers, and they must be observed unless you are told otherwise by native speakers of formal Czech, (14) Do not confuse the crka sign with the hdgel: the words mé, mine, and me ae all pronounced differently: (mei, ne, and [me].