The three pastoral chamber cantatas here are apparently well known among Czech audiences, but for others they may well come as a delightful revelation. They are among the most "Czech" of Martinu's works, although they were written in the late '50s at the end of his life, when he was living in Switzerland. They may be regarded as a set, for all three are written to texts by Czech poet Miroslav Bures, and all are for the combination of a small chorus (all-female in the case of the first cantata, The Opening of the Wells) and ...
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The three pastoral chamber cantatas here are apparently well known among Czech audiences, but for others they may well come as a delightful revelation. They are among the most "Czech" of Martinu's works, although they were written in the late '50s at the end of his life, when he was living in Switzerland. They may be regarded as a set, for all three are written to texts by Czech poet Miroslav Bures, and all are for the combination of a small chorus (all-female in the case of the first cantata, The Opening of the Wells) and a chamber group. The Opening of the Wells and the final Mikes of the Mountains employ a piano quartet, but the delightful middle work, The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires, features the unusual grouping of flute, clarinet, horn, accordion, and piano. The booklet tells you nothing about the origin of the story depicted in this charming work -- the only one of the three cantatas with a religious theme -- although it is really more of a Mother's Day theme and would make an ideal...
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