- Dvořák originally composed this overture as part of his incidental music to the play Josef Kajetán Tyl (B125), a play about the eponymous early-19th century Czech playwright. The incidental music premiered in a performance of the play in Prague on February 3, 1882.
- Dvořák excerpted the prelude from his incidental music as a concert overture, named it Domov můj (My Homeland), and published it as this standalone piece (which is also catalogued as B125a).
- The overture quotes two Czech melodies:
- Kde domov můj? (Where is my homeland?), a song by F.J. Škroup which would eventually become incorporated into the Czech national anthem
- A folksong, Na tom našem dvoře (There on our farm)1
Sources
- Klaus Döge, “Dvořák, Antonín,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 13, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051222.
Cut IDs
40725