The Magical Life and Mysterious Death of Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi

The musical partnership of Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi was defined by a symbiotic blending of minimalism, ambient, and folk music, often characterized as being out of time by those who followed their work. As detailed in a profile by The Guardian, the married Czech duo created a unique sonic identity by filtering modern minimalist compositions through baroque instruments.

Starting in the mid-1980s, the couple developed their craft within the churches and monasteries of Prague. Their work emerged against the backdrop of a communist regime, resulting in a mysterious fusion of old European music and modernism.

A Nomadic Artistic Philosophy

Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the Havlovs chose not to align their artistic output with the accelerating pace of capitalism in the Czech Republic. Instead, they adopted a nomadic existence, touring Europe via bus and rail.

Vojtěch Havlo described the pair as pilgrims who wander and play during a 2009 documentary directed by Vincent Moon. This pilgrimage-like approach to performance extended to their instrumentation, which included string instruments and minimalist piano etudes written for four hands.

The duo viewed their performances as a service to the music and the connection shared with their listeners. Irena Havlova described this as an energy between us and the audience that could only be realized when the ego is a little asleep.

Influence and Legacy

The Havlovs’ influence extended to contemporary musicians, most notably Bryce Dessner of the band The National. Dessner has been a consistent champion of the duo, stating that their work opened his mind to a different world of music in a manner similar to the compositions of Steve Reich.

Dessner specifically highlighted the 1991 album Little Blue Nothing as a record that changed his life. In 2013, he paid tribute to the duo by naming a composition Little Blue Something, which was recorded with the Kronos Quartet.

As a young musician, this music, which had elements of minimalism and aspects of medieval and Renaissance music but also an eastern sense of form and freedom, was very influential for me. I often thought of their music as related to the music of Meredith Monk or even Moondog and Harry Partch, but there was something so individual and so mystical about it that it was hard to quantify.

Bryce Dessner

The Havlovs’ work is noted for its intersection of diverse traditions, combining the structures of the Renaissance and medieval periods with an eastern sense of freedom and form.