Chakavian Suite for Voice and Piano (on chakavian lyrics by: Drago Gervais)

Boris Papandopulo (1906 – 1991) is one of the most distinctive Croatian musicians of the 20th century. Papandopulo also worked as music writer, journalist, reviewer, pianist and piano accompanist; however, he achieved the peaks of his career in music as a composer. His composing oeuvre is imposing – Papandopulo composed almost 500 opuses: with great success he created instrumental (orchestral, concertante, chamber and solo), vocal and instrumental (for solo voice and choir), music-stage and film music. In all these kinds and genres he left a string of anthology-piece compositions of great artistic value. The Chakavian Suite for voice and piano was finished, according to Papandopulo's own note at the end of the score, on November 11, 1955. The work was first performed by Jana Puleva, Papandopulo’s wife at that time, accompanied by the composer at the piano, on April 16, 1956, in the National Museum in Rijeka. It scored a notable success on June 7, 1959, when the composer and his wife performed it in Gelsenkirchen, as well as in an orchestral version a few days later in Baden Baden. After more than fifty years, the autograph of the Chakavian Suite for voice and piano was found again in Wiesbaden in Dezember 2014, and returned to Zagreb. Papandopulo had given the composition to a friend of his to look at; this was the German publisher Rudolf Lück, then owner of the Gerig publishing firm. He in turn sent it to Wiesbaden to the publishers Breitkopf & Härtel without making any contract. The autograph stayed there unremarked on for years on a shelf in their archives... (Davor Merkaš)