Two things made me aware of his artistry: Listening to an old tape of „Pinocchio“ and then watching „Tři oříšky pro Popelku“ a couple of days later – a German/Checkoslovakian TV co-production, which is aired every christmas over here. Karel Svoboda's style is a highly unusual blend of folk elements with mediaeval and classical influences, as well as spacey analog synthesizer sounds. Weird, but quite fascinating and extremely befitting for the quasi fairytale-like moods of the films and series he worked for.
I firmly decided to find out more about him, only to discover that Karel Svoboda had died early in 2007, apparently of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. While his work still awaits appraisal on its own, it is a truly sad fact that the chance to talk to this composer in person will never offer itself again.
By Tobias Fischer
Comments
I am sorry if this is posted in the wrong place but i have a question I hope someone can help me with. I am looking for an English to Czechoslovakian translation to the following phrase:
"take my hand to the city of angels"
If anyone can help me please email me at czech@ercius.com
Thanks, Bruce
There have been several Czech/German co-operations for children's films which have a magnificently surreal and captivating atmosphere. It must be the combination of traditional folk tales and elements with an approach to filming which definitely exceed children's demands and make these treasures to be enjoyed by adults as like.
The partially electronic sounds used by the composers surely contributed to the effect, and it is interesting to see that there is a still to be discovered almost minimalistic approach to film music with a very effective sound texture in a part of the industry, where one would not have searched for it.
Add a comment