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Preissová over to the idea, and was soon at work on the opera. 15
Apart from Jenůfa’s various musical ‘precursors’, as identified by Bohumír
Štědroň, 16 the earliest documented work on the opera is contained in Janáček’s
marginal annotations and sketches in his copy (PL) of Preissová’s drama. Dates
entered by Janáček into PL appear to chart a careful read-through and sketching, and
provide the earliest detailed chronology of his work (end of Act 1: 18 March 1894;
end of Act 2: 17 January 1895; end of Act 3: 11 February 1895). 17 In the middle of
this initial stage of sketching, Janáček composed the self-standing prelude (Úvod)
later known as Žárlivost [Jealousy] (VI/10); this was completed, according to a note
on the last page of Preissová’s play, on 31 December 1894. 18 From this preliminary
sketching of ideas, Janáček seems to have proceeded to a short-score draft, if the one
15 JODA, 43. Janáček’s approach, apparently taking steps to reach what Preissová later called a ‘happy
agreement’ before starting work on the opera, may well have been influenced by his experience with Julius
Zeyer, the author of Šárka, who, requested by Janáček to grant permission for composition only after it was
virtually a fait-accompli, repeatedly refused; see JODA, 4–6 and Jiří Zahrádka’s Preface to the UE vocal
score of Šárka (Vienna: Universal Edition, 2002), i–ii (Czech original) and xxiv–xxv (Eng. translation).
16 ZGJ, 11–57, also Štědroň 1966a and Štědroň 1968a. These ‘precursors’ include the piano piece Ej, danaj!
(VIII/12); Zelené sem seła [I have sown green] (III/3) for chorus and orchestra; the male-voice chorus Žárlivec
[The jealous man] (IV/19 no. 3); Úvod k Její pastorkyni (Žárlivost) [Prelude to ‘Její pastorkyňa’ (Jealousy)]
(VIII/16) for piano four hands, and its orchestral version Žárlivost (Úvod k Její pastorkyni) (VI/10).
17 PL = Janáček’s copy of Preissová’s drama, BmJA, L6; see CHAPTER 2, §2.1, and Tyrrell 1996, ii /
Tyrrell 2000, i. For a detailed account of Janáček’s work on and annotations to Její pastorkyňa, see
Štědroň 1965 and ZGJ, 59–74. The gap between the read-through of Act 1 and Acts 2 and 3, whilst it
may have been caused by Janáček’s heavy workload from teaching and folk-collecting activities, seems to
parallel the later (and even longer) hiatus at the same point during composition proper.
18 Tyrrell takes the view that the date of 31 December 1894 probably refers to the completion of the
four-hand piano version (VIII/16): see JYL i, 411. Although the music for the orchestral version of this
prelude was subsequently copied into all the orchestral parts for the 1904 Jenůfa (as well as those
newly copied out in 1906 and 1911), it appears never to have been performed as part of the opera in
Janáček’s lifetime (see CHAPTER 2, §2.1, especially OP and OPx). It was, however, played as an
independent concert piece, receiving its first performance in Prague on 14 September 1906 by the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under František Neumann; see Němcová 1974, 134 (fn. 5), and Tyrrell
2000, ix. See also Němcová 1980, 159 and 164 (endnote 3), and Němcová 1984, 25–6.
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