As 20-year-old Olga Janáčková lay dying from typhoid fever, her father wrote down everything she said. Later, he transformed those words—and gasps—into music. The grieving father, Czech composer Leoš Janáček, called the ultra-short musical pieces “speech melodies.” In this episode, language writer Michael Erard invites cellist Petronella Torin to play Olga’s speech melodies. NYU’s Michael Beckerman describes the controversy surrounding them.
This is among countless ways that loved ones have memorialized the final words of the dying. Michael Erard tells the stories of many of them in his new book, Bye Bye I Love You.
Music in this episode by Magnus Ludvigsson, Medité, Dream Cave, Nylonia, Alexandra Woodward, Cobby Costa, August Wilhelmsson, David Celeste, Martin Landstrom, Gavin Luke, Rand Also, Airae, Alan Ellis, Jules Gaia, Trabant 33, and Leoš Janáček. More about cellist Petronella Torin here.
The photo (via Wikimedia Commons) shows Olga Janáčková, daughter of the Czech composer Leoš Janáček, not long before her death from typhoid fever.
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This podcast episode is so moving! Hearing Petronella Torin play Leoš Janáčeks Olgas speech is incredibly poignant. Michael Erards storytelling in Bye Bye I Love You really brings these final moments to life. A thought-provoking and emotional listen.
This episode was so touching and beautifully done. Learning about different ways people honor loved ones through music and language is truly heartwarming and insightful. A must-listen!
Wow, what a powerful way to keep a memory alive. Music can be such a healing force, and to turn a loved one’s last words into melody? That’s just beautiful. It really makes you think about how we honor those we’ve lost, you know?
This episode on final words and memorial music had me both moved and mildly bewildered. Who knew there was such a cottage industry in finding poignant last lines or the perfect requiem? Its fascinating, though perhaps a bit morbidly charming. And the list of musicians – what a wild ensemble! From Trabant 33 to Leoš Janáček, one assumes the spectral cellists are coordinating. Kudos to Michael Erard for bringing this to light, though I suspect my own final words will be Could someone please get me more coffee? – a truly timeless communication challenge. Still, a must-listen for language geeks and the eternally curious!