Jaroslav Volek

Who was Jaroslav Volek?

Jaroslav Volek was a Czech musicologist, semiotician who developed a theory of modal music. His theory included ideas of poly-modality and alteration of notes that he called "flex," which result in what he called the system of flexible diatonics. He applied this theory to the work of Béla Bartók and Leoš Janáček. He wrote General Theory of Art based on semiotic concepts in 1968.

During his life he was blacklisted by the authorities of the communist soviet dominated government of Czechoslovakia, who seldom allowed publication of his work. The result is a scarcity of biographical material that is contemporaneous from his homeland, with more available in German translation, or published in English after his death. Late in his life he was allowed to travel, and was a guest at American University during the 1980s.

He is particularly cited in relation to the works of 20th-century European composers, because his theory directly confronts the relationship between melodies based on speech and modal sources, with the classical music harmonic tradition of tonality.