Music, time, and space in a progressive reflection of Leoš Janáček

The paper focuses on that specific part of Janáček’s theory of music that deals with the relationship of music and space, thus logically including the term time as a continuum in which music takes place. Janáček found ideal study material in speech melodies (nápěvky) and in folk song, that is, in an area not touched negatively by literary (written) petrification. This enabled him to observe manifestations that originated spontaneously in rhythm and expression. The paper also deals with later reflections by Janáček of the specific connection of music with space, that is, the psychological internalization of music matter. Janáček found the theoretical explanation of folk song partly in geographical determinism. In his opinion, mesological influences determine the regionally-specific features of melody, rhythm, and other components of folk music. New philosophical and methodological influences, including Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, could be observed in Janáček’s theory in the beginning of the 1920s. The composer stopped using the term space-time, which included encoded variability and the independence of the observer. It was this subjectivity of the observer, presupposing shifts in time and thus in meaning, that became a part of Janáček’s understanding of the musical material, both in the reception phase and especially in the process of creation. This view supported Janáček’s tendency towards the tectonic concept of music structure, affirming him in his sophisticated work with time layers and consequently helping him create unique deeds in dramaturgy in the area of composing opera music