Zitne Pole and Vybehla briza belicka

Vítězslav Hálek (1835 – 1874) was a journalist, author, poet, and theatre critic, and a prominent member of the Máj school. Reacting heavily to the Austro-centric cultural policies from the House of Hapsburg, Hálek and his colleagues focused on the development of Czech nationalist writings and the codification of the Czech language as a literary avenue of expression.

Dvořák set poetry by Hálek on three different occassions: Dědicové bilé hory (1872), Večerní písně (1876), and V přírodě (1882)—the source material of this edition—though the composer used many tangential adeptations and translations of Hálek’s work throughout his active career. The poetry for this set evokes the beauty of the Bohemian landscape and complements many of the nationalistic elements seen in Dvořák’s own music.