Janáček the composer first presented himself to the public
with male choruses intended for Svatopluk association production and liturgical
compositions for mixed choir with the organ accompaniment which were performed
in church choir lofts. The first opportunity to compose a secular choral piece
for male and female voices arose in 1877 with a significant social event -
beginning of the construction of a new building for Teachers' Institute in Old
Brno.
It was for this occasion that Janáček composed Slavnostní sbor (Festive
Chorus for Laying the Foundation Stone of the Teachers' Institute), the first of
a series of mixed choruses in this volume of the Complete Critical Edition of the
Works of Leoš Janáček.
This
volume consists of: Slavnostní sbor / Festive Chorus (1877), Píseň v jeseni/Autumn song
(1880), Kačena divoká/ The wild duck (around1885), Naše píseň/ Our song
(around 1890), Už je slúnko z tej hory ven!/ The sun has risen above that hill (1894), Ukvalské
písně/ Hukvaldy
songs (1899).