Bohuslav Martinů - Songs (Martina Janková; Tomáš Král; Ivo Kahánek)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

• Songs on One Page, H. 294
• Songs on Two Pages, H. 302
• New Slovak Songs, H. 126
• New Chap-Book, H. 288

Martina Janková, soprano

Tomáš Král, baritone

Ivo Kahánek, piano

Date: 2019

Label: Supraphon

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Review

This deeply touching disc gathers together four sets of Martinů’s songs, both early and late. Two thirds of it is given over to the New Slovak Songs, a striking sequence of folk arrangements dating from 1920, when Martinů was still in Czechoslovakia, though they remained unpublished until 1970. The work of a composer who was still finding his voice, they’re shaded towards art songs, offsetting melodic directness with accompaniments that embrace post-Romantic and Impressionist harmonies in their illustration of both the natural and emotional worlds of the texts.

The remaining three sets, in contrast, are original compositions to folk poetry, written during Martinů’s exile in the United States. Remarkable in every way, they pare the Czech folk idiom down to its absolute essence, their terse vocal lines supported by the sparest of accompaniments. There are elements of modernist abrasion in the piano-writing for The New Chap-Book of 1942 that glance back to the works of Martinů’s Paris period in the 1930s. In the Songs on One and Two Pages, however, dating from 1943 and 1944 respectively, we find only the simplest piano chords that frequently drift towards harmonic irresolution. In all three sets, many of the songs last less than a minute, and the effect is at once fragmented and timeless, suggesting brief, painful memories of the country from which Martinů was now tragically separated by war.

Though Martinů probably intended each set to be sung by a single performer, Martina Janková and Tomáš Král divide the songs between them, depending on the sex of the protagonist, turning dialogues into duets when necessary, and Janková’s clear, silvery soprano offsets Král’s light, warm baritone throughout. Nothing is over-dramatised or tipped towards sentimentality, though Janková can often be extraordinarily poignant – the grieving ‘My mother, my mother’, which opens New Slovak Songs, really gets under your skin – while Král is amorous and witty, engaging and soulful by turns. Pianist Ivo Kahánek, meanwhile, binds the songs together with playing of understated dexterity and emotional restraint. It’s a lovely disc, most beautifully done.

— Tim Ashley

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Bohuslav Martinů (December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He was a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. Martinů was a prolific composer who wrote almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh, his six symphonies, concertos, chamber music, a flute sonata, a clarinet sonatina and many others. Martinů's notable students include Alan Hovhaness, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Jan Novák and many others.

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Martina Janková (born 1972 in Orlová) is a Swiss soprano of Czech origin known. She studied music in Ostrava and later trained in opera at the City of Basel Music Academy. Since 1998, she has been a principal artist at the Zürich Opera, performing a wide range of roles including Pamina, Susanna, Adele and Despina. She has worked with renowned conductors such as William Christie and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. In addition to her Zürich engagements, Janková has appeared with the Prague State Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, and at the Salzburg Festival, as well as in many international concert venues as a soloist.

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Czech baritone Tomáš Král studied at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. Since 2005, he has collaborated with leading European ensembles such as Collegium 1704, La Venexiana, Holland Baroque and the Dunedin Consort. He has performed at major festivals including Prague Spring, Salzburg, and La Chaise-Dieu, and at prestigious venues like Vienna Musikverein, Wigmore Hall, and the Philharmonie de Paris. His operatic repertoire spans from Monteverdi to Mozart and includes both well- and lesser-known roles. Král also participates in recordings which feature works by Bach, Zelenka and Janáček.

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Ivo Kahánek (born 1979) is a Czech pianist who graduated from the Janáček Conservatoire, Prague's Academy of Performing Arts, and London's Guildhall School. Coming to public attention after winning the Concertino Praga and the Prague Spring Competition in 2004, he has since performed with leading orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and collaborating with top conductors and chamber musicians. Kahánek has released thirteen CDs on the Supraphon Music label. His recordings have earned prestigious awards such as the Diapason d'Or and Choix de Classique HD.

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