The composer, teacher, pianist, conductor and collector of Slovak folk songs Viliam Figuš-Bystrý was a significant character in the history of Slovak music from the first third of the 20th century. He was closely connected with his home town, Banská Bystrica, where he spent most of his life. He studied at the teachers’ institute in Banská Štiavnica (1889 – 1893) and later briefly worked as a teacher in various places: Pilis near Budapest, Ostrá Lúka, Zvolenská Slatina and Padina, in Vojvodina. In 1907, he returned to Banská Bystrica where he would stay for the rest of his life. Music was an essential part of his life from childhood and everywhere he worked he made an active contribution to the improvement of the musical life of the area.
In terms of composition, Viliam Figuš-Bystrý focused on the Romantic musical style. Although he also adopted some elements of impressionism in his later work, the new musical movements at the beginning of the 20th century were alien to him. He was an enthusiastic admirer of Slovak folk songs and their multifaceted creative use is a dominant feature of his musical works. Many of his adaptations of folk songs for voice and piano have been published. He collected songs from the areas around Zvolenská Slatina and elsewhere. In terms of musical inclination, Viliam Figuš-Bystrý was primarily a musical lyricist and master of fine detail, as was proven by his original song cycles for voice and piano to accompany the poetry of Slovak poets (Sny (Dreams) op. 8, Po poliach a lúkach (Through Fields and Meadows) op. 53 and op. 83, Mati moja (My Dear Mother) op. 85).
His greatest work Detvan (The Man from Detva), an opera, was based on a libretto inspired by the poem of the same name by A. Sládkovič (première in 1928). It has historical meaning and is a step in the history of the development of Slovak opera. Due to the rich folklore material and folk music tone used in the work, it may be defined as a type of “folk opera”. The extensive compositional legacy left by Viliam Figuš-Bystrý also includes choral, cantata and sacred music, as well as orchestral, chamber, piano and organ instrumental works. The issue of the postage stamp reflects both the aspects of the opera, which is represented in the background of the postage stamp՚s portrait and the rural folklore on the FDC overprint.
Jana Lengová
