Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) was at the height of his fame when he wrote the ten Biblical Songs in March 1894. The public premieres of his Ninth Symphony and his String Quartet no. 12 (‘American’) had both taken place within the preceding three months when Dvořák turned once more to the personal and intimate genre of the solo song with piano accompaniment. In this set, Dvořák takes texts from the Psalms out of their familiar musical context of the church or cathedral sung service and places them in the typically secular genre of the song. Here, the songs can also be understood as an expression of national identity, and perhaps, at times, convey a sense of nostalgia, evoking the image of Dvořák turning the pages of his frequently consulted Czech-language Bible while still living in New York.

This new Urtext, like the first edition published by Simrock in 1895, presents two vocal lines, with English and German texts on the upper stave, and Czech text on the lower stave. This facilitates a clear presentation of variants in the vocal line to accommodate each language where required. The rhythmic variants carefully reflect differences in syllabic rhythm between languages (iambic or trochaic dotted rhythms replace notes of equal length as the text requires, for example); pitches are also altered – at the end of the seventh song, a melismatic rising octave on a single syllable in Czech is replaced by two notes at the same pitch in English and German to the word ‘lifelong’ or ‘Namen’. This musically less dramatic alternative was presumably provided to avoid an awkward emphasis on the second syllable if the rising octave had been retained. The provision of such variants reveals a desire to allow the natural rhythm of each individual language to feature prominently within the texture.

The existence of two vocal staves also highlights that while the concept of an Urtext remains valuable, it does not necessarily entail the identification of a single musical text. This is underlined by the publication of the score in versions for high and low voice, and by the arrangement of a version with orchestral accompaniment (Dvořák arranged only the first five songs, with the rest of the set arranged posthumously by other hands). Given that these songs can be performed by both male and female voices, the number of versions multiplies. Although Dvořák indicates the first song in the autograph score (which becomes the seventh song in the published version) is for alto, three more songs are simply marked ‘Zpěv’ (voice), and there is no indication for the other songs. Any thought of identifying one original conception is further frustrated when we consider that the first public performance of the songs for voice and piano has not been identified.

The score is well supported by critical front and back matter. David R. Beveridge provides a wide-ranging preface that deals with the choice of text, the genesis of the work, and key stages in its history concerning performance, publication and reception. This includes an account of the publisher's active involvement in commissioning translations of the text into German and English. The Preface is helpfully provided in English, German and Czech versions, and is well supported by references to primary sources. This is followed by the songs’ texts in all three languages with references to their specific sources in the Psalms. The individual songs do not have titles and are simply referred to by number throughout the edition.

Eva Velická's ‘Critical Report’ is provided at the back of the score in English only. The publication also includes a plate reproducing a page of the autograph manuscript. This is a welcome addition, although sight-readers may be slightly surprised when they first encounter it in between songs 8 and 9, midway through the score. As Velická's report explains, the autograph is incomplete and so it is likely that a lost fair copy informed the first printed version. In this circumstance, the latter inevitably provides the primary source for the present publication. Editorial work included correction of numerous errors in the original Czech text; inconsistencies in the articulation and dynamic markings between the two vocal lines have also been addressed. The editor has paid careful attention to subtle differences between the vocal lines, including those concerning the precise beginnings and endings of crescendos and diminuendos.

The resulting Urtext provides a clean copy; although dynamic markings are fairly extensive, the extent of phrase markings fluctuates, and there are few pedal markings. This leaves performers with a text to develop in their interpretation, addressing familiar issues such as phrasing, breathing, pedalling and fingering. At times, Dvořák's dynamic markings in the piano part raise interesting questions: for example, at the opening of the fourth song, how does one effect a fp diminuendo on a single note? In addition, a diminuendo appears on the final piano chord of the last song. How to realize such markings are questions which this Urtext edition properly places in the hands of performers and scholars. Considered as a whole, this new Bärenreiter edition provides a reliable and clear musical text and ample supporting material, and it is a welcome addition to the catalogue.