Martinů: Otvírání studánek, Legenda z dýmu bramborové nati, Mikeš z hor - CD

The cantata The Opening of the Springs, one of the composer’s most intimate expressions of love for his native region, has a firm place in Supraphon’s catalogue. The work draws on an old custom marking the farewell to winter and the welcoming of spring, when children go out to clean and “open” springs by removing the layers of spring silt, offering a very different kind of spring blessing from the one known through Stravinsky. Through the figure of the pilgrim, Martinů returns to his native region at least in memory; from 1938 until the end of his life, he was unable to return home. He completed the other two cantatas, The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Tops and Mikeš from the Mountains, during the final years of his life, carrying a longing for home, memories of his native region and its folk songs. In the year marking the 50th anniversary of Martinů’s death, Supraphon returns its finest recording to the catalogue in a new graphic design, featuring outstanding soloists and a choir conducted by Pavel Kühn. This time-tested recording of The Opening of the Springs returns to the Supraphon catalogue in a new edition.