How did folk music influence Dvořák's compositions?
Influence? It was more than influence; it was the very essence, the very marrow! I never sought to merely copy a folk tune, you understand. That would be like pinning a butterfly to a board – its beauty is gone. Instead, I listened to the spirit, the irresistible urge of its rhythm, the singing quality of its melody. Think of a dumka, a furiant – these are not just forms, they are feelings, dances, stories. I would take a simple rhythmic idea, a melodic turn of phrase, and let it grow, blossom, like a seed finding its way to the sun, as in my Slavonic Dances.
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