Bohuslav Martinů

Prague Sympony Orchestra

1. Nipponari                                                                                                21:35
Seven songs for female voice with orchestra, H. 68            

     I. The Blue Hour (Andante)                                  2:03

     II. Old Age(Andante)                                            4:32

     III. A Memory (Andantino)                                    2:11

     IV. Life in Dreams(Andantino)                             3:14

     V. Footsteps in the Snow (Moderato)                 2:46

     VI. A Look Back (Largo religioso)                        4:06

     VII. By the Sacred Lake (Grave)                          2:16

Dagmar Pecková - Soprano

Jiří Bělohlávek - Conductor

2. Secret Nights                                                                                       15:19
Three songs to Chinese texts for soprano and orchestra, H. 119 

Lubica Rybárská - soprano

Jiří Bělohlávek

3. Czech Rhapsody                                                                                    36:11
Cantata for baritone, mixed choir, orchestra and organ, H. 118

Ivan Kusnjer - baritone
Jiří Bělohlávek
Kühnův mixed choir, choir master: Pavel Kühn

Recorded: Dvořák Hall, Rudolfine 1988 (1,2), 1985 (3)
Released: 2008

All three of these compositions open the imaginative world of the young Martinů to the listener, providing a glimpse into his early works for voice and orchestra. Nipponari and Magic Nights were both inspired by exotic texts. The works of Japanese poets used in Nipponari are infused with a wistful, dreamy mood which is masterfully captured by Martinů’s unusual instrumentation and subtle compositional technique. For his Impressionistic Magic Nights he instinctively chose texts about sorrow in a distant land far from home, unaware that this theme would play a fateful role in his own life. Mahler, incidentally, drew on the same collection of poems for his song cycle Das Lied von der Erde. The general nationalistic fervor of 1918 and the thought of national independence are reflected in the Czech Rhapsody — released here for the first time on CD — particularly in his use of the Hymn “Saint Wenceslas” (patron saint of the Czech nation), and the premiere of this work was a tremendous success for Martinů.

It is difficult to imagine a more competent and sensitive interpretation of these works than you will find in these time-tested recordings by conductor Jiří Bělohlávek and outstanding soloists.