Martinu Cantates Vasilek - Su4198 - Supraphon - Classical - Our Labels - by Supraphon

Sans espoir de retour dans son pays natal, exilé nostalgique entre Nice et la Suisse, guetté puis dévoré par un terrible cancer, Bohuslav Martinu aura écrit abondamment au long des années cinquante, mais fut-il jamais plus émouvant que dans les quatre petites cantates composées entre 1955 et 1959 ? Elles débordent de musiques populaires, font une large place à un merveilleux champêtre, mêlant naïveté et poésie, Martinu y invente tout un surprenant arsenal de sonorités uniques où le piano se marie avec quelques instruments, entourant le chœur et les voix solistes avec une grâce inouïe. A bien les considérer, les quatre cantates forment un véritable ensemble qui pourrait passer pour le testament spirituel de leur compositeur, et la nouvelle version de Lukas Vasilek qui les réuni enfin sur un disque surclasse même la gravure magnifique de Pavel Kühn qui n’avait qu’un défaut : omettre la Romance des pissenlits. Avantage majeur de la nouvelle venue, elle s’appuie sur une édition critique qui modifie sensiblement le texte des quatre opus, avivant encore leurs singularités. L’équilibre auquel parvient Lukas Vasilek dans les dosages subtils entre solistes, chœur et ensemble instrumental produit une lecture plus mouvante, et surtout plus émouvante, qui saisit le lyrisme désarmant qu’y distilla Martinu. Venez vous émerveiller (Discophilia - Artalinna.com). (Jean-Charles Hoffelé)

When Miloslav Bureš sent his first poem Song of the Ruby Spring to Bohuslav Martinu in 1955, he seemed to have touched the deepest spot of the composer’s heart. The poet set his verses into the landscape of the Czech Highlands, the region of Martinu’s childhood and a rich source of his memories. The composer must have identified strongly with the character of the pilgrim returning to his birthplace, because he wrote The Opening of the Springs within nine days. Later he set to music three more poems by Bureš, finishing the last one, Mikeš of the Mountains, half a year before his death. For Martinu, the cantatas represented an important link to his homeland at a time when the political situation and later also his poor health were diminishing his hopes of coming back home. One can only imagine what he felt when he was sitting in Schönenberg, Switzerland, listening to the vinyl record with the first recording of his Opening of the Springs published by Supraphon, or when his friends were sending him reports about the Czech premieres of his works... This new recording made by the Prague Philharmonic Choir is based on the currently prepared critical edition that takes into account the composer’s manuscripts and interpretation requirements. Insisting on the highest performance quality and returning to Martinu’s original ideas were what motivated the musicians throughout the making of this recording.