Václav Trojan: Music Composition in Czech Animated Films

This book explores the Czech composer Vclav Trojan (1907-1983) and his compositions for Jiri Trnka's films, a very influential puppet stop-motion animator. Trnka is regarded as one of the finest outcomes of Czech art in the aftermath of the Second World War and inspiration for contemporary directors like Tim Burton and companies such as Aardman or Laika. Trojan's music for animation sets a great artistic model in European animation, at least as meaningful as Carl Stalling's music for Warner Bros. cartoons in the USA. Trojan was an eclectic artist, which encompassed folk songs, jazz and blues influences, neoclassical symphonic and chamber works, opera and more. Key Features: A historical overview of the origins and early development of Czech animation Biographical sketches and stylistic outline of both Trnka and Trojan An audiovisual analysis of all the available Trnka films Trojan wrote music for Filmography and bibliography

Cover; Half Title; Series Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication Page; Contents; Acknowledgments; About the Author; Introduction; 1: Czech Animation and Music: Premises and Context; Origins of Czech Animation; Why Puppets? The Czech Puppet Theater Tradition; From Stage to Screen; Sound and Music in Early Puppet Films; Smetana and the Puppet Theater: A Case Study; 2: Jiří Trnka: Early Career and Relationship with Music; Trnka the Puppeteer; Trnka the Illustrator, Painter, and Designer; Trnka and Music; Brothers, Tricks, Shirts, and Films; 3: Václav Trojan's Music: A Stylistic Outline

4: The Films by Trnka and TrojanZasadil dEˇdek rEˇpu (Grandpa Planted a Beet, 1945); Zvírˇátka a Petrovští (The Animals and the Bandits, 1946); ŠpaliCˇek (The Czech Year, 1947); CísaRˇU˚v slavík (The Emperor's Nightingale, 1949); CˇertU˚v mlýn (The Devil's Mill, 1949); Román s basou (The Story of the Contrabass, 1949); Bajaja (Prince Bajaja, 1950); Veselý CirKus (The Merry Circus, 1951); O zlaté rybce (The Golden Fish, 1951); Staré povEˇsti Cˇeské (Old Czech Legends, 1953); Jak staRˇeCˇek mEˇnil, až vymEˇnil (How the Old Man Traded It All Away, 1953)

Dobrý voják Švejk (The Good Soldier Švejk, 1…