Bohuslav Martinů - Špalíček (František Jílek)

Information

Composer: Bohuslav Martinů

CD1:

• (01) Spalícek, ballet, H. 214: Opening
• (02) Spalícek, ballet, H. 214: Act I
• (22) Spalícek, ballet, H. 214: Act II
• (42) Spalícek, ballet, H. 214: Act III

CD2:

• (01) Spalícek, ballet, H. 214: Act III (continued)
• (10) The Spectre's Bride, ballad based on Karel Jaromír Erben's poem, H. 214 I
• (11) The Romance of the Dandelions, cantata, H. 364
• (12) The Primrose, five duets on texts of Moravia folk songs, H. 348

Spalícek: 

         Anna Kratochvílová, soprano; Miroslav Kopp, tenor; Richard Novák, bass
         Kantiléna Children's Chorus, chorus master: Jan Sedláček
         Kühn Female Chorus, chorus master: Pavel Kühn
         Brno Philharmonic Orchestra

         František Jílek, conductor

The Spectre's Bride:
         Jiřina Marková, soprano; Miroslav Kopp, tenor; Pavel Horáček, bass
         Kühn Mixed Chorus, chorus master: Pavel Kühn
         Prague Symphony Orchestra
         Jiří Bělohlávek, conductor

The Romance of the Dandelion:
         Milada Čejková, soprano

         Kühn Mixed Chorus, chorus master: Pavel Kühn

The Primrose:

        Petr Messiereur, violin; Stanislav Bogunia, piano

        Kühn Female Chorus, chorus master: Pavel Kühn

Date: 1988 (H. 214, H. 364 & H. 348), 1985 (H. 214 I)
Label: Supraphon
http://www.supraphon.com/album/2523-martinu-spalicek-the-spectre-s-bride-romance-of-the-dandelio

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

This is a recoupling made even more desirable than on its original issue by the inclusion of The Specter’s Bride, Martinu’s retelling of the same story set by Dvorák about a young girl who runs away with her dead lover’s ghost, only to be rescued at the last minute from the cemetery by the arrival of dawn. It’s a wonderful piece, as fine in its own way as Dvorák’s setting, and, at half an hour, much shorter. Including it in this two-disc set makes a perfect program organized around settings of Czech folk poetry, the Dandelion Romance and The Primrose being two much shorter but very charming further examples.

The main attraction, however, is Špalícek, a ballet with songs in which each of the three acts incorporates the telling of a fairy tale, enhanced by plenty of additional dancing and commentary framing the main stories. The music is invariably appealing and rhythmically vivacious, Martinu in his most bubbly folk/neo-classical mode–and if you enjoy the suite (recorded by Mackerras on Conifer) then you will surely find the complete work equally enchanting.

All of the performances here are excellent in every respect. None of the soloists, save bass Richard Novák, are at all well known, but it doesn’t matter a bit, while the conductors are veterans who can be counted on to deliver consistently idiomatic and persuasive results. Given the wide variety of forces–from full orchestra with chorus and soloists in The Specter’s Bride and Špalícek to solo violin, piano, and a small group of sopranos and altos in The Primrose–the engineering is quite good. A major Martinu release, for sure. [4/11/2008]

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/martinu-spalicek-etc
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/s/spr10752a.php
https://www.amazon.com/Martinu-Spalicek-Spectres-Dandelions-Primrose/dp/B000VX1QFO

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bohuslav Martinů (December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. Martinů began as a violinist of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. In the early 1930s he found his main font for compositional style, the neo-classical as developed by Stravinsky. With this, he expanded to become a prolific composer, who wrote almost 400 pieces, included 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He is compared with Prokofiev and Bartók in his innovative incorporation of Central European ethnomusicology into his music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohuslav_Martin%C5%AF

***

František Jílek (May 22, 1913 – September 16, 1993) was a Czech conductor, known especially for his interpretation of Leoš Janáček's works. Jílek began studying piano and composition as a pupil of Jaroslav Kvapil, and later studied conducting under Antonín Balatka and Zdeněk Chalabala at the Brno Conservatory. In 1937, Jílek completed his education at the Prague Conservatory, in the master class of Vítězslav Novák. In 1952, he became the principal conductor of Janáček´s opera in Brno, a position he held for 25 years. His recordings of Janáček's, Novák's and Martinů's works are available on Supraphon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_J%C3%ADlek

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!