Jana Ringwald

Jana Mila crafts songs with powerful lyrics and surprising, catchy melodies—songs she delivers with compelling expression. Americans label her music as Indie Americana Pop. Last year, she took a substantial collection of self-written songs to Nashville and returned with a dream debut and a record deal in hand.

In the rich musical life of early 18th century Prague, the Advent and Christmas seasons formed a chapter unto themselves. Their specific repertoire consisted not only of the themes of this liturgical season (including a strong element of the Marian cult), but also of special liturgical and musical forms. In both songs and figural music Czech suddenly appeared side by side with Latin, along with elements of folk religion and culture.

Zdenek Fibich’s three symphonies project very different qualities: No. 1 (available on 8.572985) prizes structural integration, and No. 2 (8.573157) cyclical unity. Symphony No. 3, written only two years before his untimely death, but at the zenith of his powers as one of the Czech Lands’ leading composers, reveals Fibich’s sustained melodic and atmospheric powers as the music pursues the ‘darkness to light’ trajectory synonymous with the symphony during the 19th century. The remaining pieces, drawn from his best stage works, showcase operatic qualities that extend the dramatic lineage of Smetana. This is the final volume in this series.