Programme notes:

Tereza Jaďuďová (b. 2001)
Mor ho!, Op. 60
Written in 2022-2023

Samo Chalupka’s Mor ho! (1864) is one of the most iconic poems of Slovak Romanticism, expressing patriotism, defiance, and moral strength. Jaďuďová’s large-scale symphonic poem for tenor and bass soloists, SATB choir, and full orchestra sets the text in its entirety, combining folkloric colour, narrative drive, and monumental orchestration.

The work unfolds as a dramatic sequence: the narrator introduces the proud Slovak envoys offering peace, bread, and salt to the Roman Emperor. Their call for freedom and equality is answered with imperial pride and threat of subjugation. In response, the famous battle cry “Mor ho!” resounds, launching the fight.

Jaďuďová’s setting mirrors this structure. Broad choral passages evoke the voice of the Slovak people; soloists personify the narrator and the Emperor. The orchestra paints the landscape of the Tatras, the Danube, and the battlefield—alternating between moments of solemn stillness, stirring patriotic fervor, and the violent energy of combat.

In the final sections, the Slovak warriors fall, but their moral victory is underscored by the music’s transformation: the battle subsides into a quiet, noble conclusion, reflecting the eternal glory of those who died for freedom.

Instrumentation:

picc, 2fl, 2ob, corA, 2cl, bcl, 2bn, cbn, 4hn, 3tpt, 3trbn, tba, timp, 5perc [SD, trl, BD, cyms, t-t, tamb, xyl], hp, pf, vv [ten, bass], ch [SATB], str [16vln I, 14vln II, 12vla, 10vc, 8db]