Album
Martina Janková, Tomáš Král, Ivo Kahánek
Martinů: Songs
Catalogue Number: SU 4235-2
Published: 8th February 2019
Genre: Vocal
Format: 1 CD
This album has received following awards:
- Diapason d´Or, Diapason Magazine (2019)
- CD des Monats, Opernwelt (2019)
- Critic's Choice, Opera News (2019)
Bohuslav Martinů - Songs on One Page, H 294; Songs on Two Pages, H 302, New Slovak Songs, H 126; The New Chapbook, H 288
Martina Janková - soprano, Tomáš Král - baritone, Ivo Kahánek - piano
Folk songs are evidently one of the seminal sources of inspiration that Bohuslav Martinů drew upon in his music. The composer would take Sušil's extensive collection of traditional Moravian songs along with him wherever he travelled. The texts from the volume were used for the majority of the Songs on One Page, Songs on Two Pages and The New Chapbook. Just as Dvořák had done in his Moravian Duets, so Martinů conceived his own tunes and accompaniment, yet his having been profoundly impacted by folk music, its rhythm, melody and harmonic techniques is palpable. Created in the early 1940s, in the middle of World War II, during the composer's exile in the USA, the three song cycles represented for Martinů and his compatriots a connection with their beleaguered homeland. Jan Masaryk, a Czech diplomat and a skilled amateur pianist, often performed the songs together with the soprano Jarmila Novotná, a MET soloist. Owing to their elliptical expression and modesty, the three cycles may serve as the clue to Martinů's late works. The New Slovak Songs constitute a unique piece in the composer's oeuvre; he himself had collected them during his visit to Slovakia in 1920 and subsequently wrote for them piano accompaniments. Three renowned artists, bearing an authentic relation to folk music and Martinů's work alike, have made a benchmark recording, in which they have succeeded in highlighting the songs' tender beauty.
Bohuslav Martinů's songs - magnificent tiny pieces by a great master
Martina Janková - soprano, Tomáš Král - baritone, Ivo Kahánek - piano
Folk songs are evidently one of the seminal sources of inspiration that Bohuslav Martinů drew upon in his music. The composer would take Sušil's extensive collection of traditional Moravian songs along with him wherever he travelled. The texts from the volume were used for the majority of the Songs on One Page, Songs on Two Pages and The New Chapbook. Just as Dvořák had done in his Moravian Duets, so Martinů conceived his own tunes and accompaniment, yet his having been profoundly impacted by folk music, its rhythm, melody and harmonic techniques is palpable. Created in the early 1940s, in the middle of World War II, during the composer's exile in the USA, the three song cycles represented for Martinů and his compatriots a connection with their beleaguered homeland. Jan Masaryk, a Czech diplomat and a skilled amateur pianist, often performed the songs together with the soprano Jarmila Novotná, a MET soloist. Owing to their elliptical expression and modesty, the three cycles may serve as the clue to Martinů's late works. The New Slovak Songs constitute a unique piece in the composer's oeuvre; he himself had collected them during his visit to Slovakia in 1920 and subsequently wrote for them piano accompaniments. Three renowned artists, bearing an authentic relation to folk music and Martinů's work alike, have made a benchmark recording, in which they have succeeded in highlighting the songs' tender beauty.
Bohuslav Martinů's songs - magnificent tiny pieces by a great master
Reviews
“Janková und Král bringen die Lieder ausgezeichnet zur Geltung, sie mit einem reschen Sopran, er mit einem sprechenden Bariton. Gerade in den lapidaren, durchaus originellen im amerikanischen Exil entstandenen Liedchen auf einer Seite bzw. Liedchen auf zwei Seiten bestechen sie durch rhythmische Flexibilität und hüpfende Hurtigkeit… Die während eines Sommers in der Slowakei 1920 entstandene Bearbeitung einer Sammlung von Volksliedern für Klavier und Gesang, die Slowakischen Lieder, verlangen den Solisten expressiveren Ausdruck und größere stimmliche Reichweite ab, was der Sopranistin mit drallem Temperament oder kräftigem Ausdruck (Nr. 51) und dem Bariton im zartesten Piano, beispielsweise im „Abendstern“ (Nr. 23) und „Verlassenen Liebhaber“ (Nr. 46), am schönsten gelingt; stets unterstützt vom musikantisch prachtvollen Klavierton des Ivo Kahánek.”
Operalounge, March 2019
“Le timbre fruité de Martina Jankova, dont la maturité vocale paraît plus épanouie que jamais, la subtilité de Tomas Kral, qui joue aussi bien des syncopes de la musique que des accents toniques de la langue, et l’attention inventive d’Ivo Kahanek, cheville ouvrière de l’entreprise, font des miracles dans toutes les miniatures du bouquet, dont les parfums embaument chaque écoute.”
Diapason, April 2019
“Supraphon’s focus on these folk settings sets it apart from the multi-volume Naxos discs but in a fruitful and complementary way … Janková’s focused innocent purity adds a slightly different, less interventionist gloss … baritone Tomáš Král sings with a boyish warmth, and master pianist Ivo Kahánek – who has never made a bad disc – proves exemplary in the cimbalom evocations.”
MusicWeb International, April 2019
“This is an utterly delightful album of (mostly) short songs by Martinů, all quite lyrical and tonal and mostly based on folk music, and one of the reasons it is so delightful is that both Martina Janková and Tomáš Král have attractive voices without wobbles and with wonderfully musical styling and excellent diction.”
The Art Music Lounge, March 2019
“Martina Janková singt diese Lieder mit dem tiefen Verständnis für alles, was mit Liebesleid und -lust zu tun hat. Ihr wendiger, wundervoll samtig timbrierter Sopran verleiht den Liedern Intimität und Wahrhaftigkeit. Zurecht lobt sie ihren Partner Tomáš Král als einen feinfühligen Sänger, dessen lyrische Stimme begeistert und wunderbar zu Martinů's Idiom passt. Wer Freude an den kleinen, unspektakulären Dingen des Lebens hat, der wird diese CD als ein mit zahlreichen Juwelen gefülltes Schatzkästlein zu schätzen wissen.”
Das Opernglas, April 2019
“La chaude maturité vocale de Martina Jankova, la sensible délicatesse de Tomas Kral, non moins que le piano fédérateur d’Ivo Kahanek donnent à ces musiques contrastées leur tour sentimental ou nostalgique, drôle voire grinçant. En solo ou en duo, les chanteurs et leur compagnon au clavier nous entraînent sur les chemins d’Europe centrale dont les 52 mélodies de Martinu sont autant de petites pierres de touche.”
Le Monde, April 2019
“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… Pianist Ivo Kahánek, meanwhile, binds the songs together with playing of understated dexterity and emotional restraint. It’s a lovely disc, most beautifully done.”
Gramophone, May 2019
“Die drei Künstler vermitteln die insgesamt 52 Lieder des Albums auf vorbildlich unpathetische, schlichte Weise; der Tonfall bleibt stets leicht, frisch, spielerisch, wie selbstverständlich auch in Liebesfreud und Liebesleid, ganz ohne dicke Ausrufezeichen und übertriebenes Bedeutungspathos. Eine exemplarische Interpretation durch diese vorbildlichen Sachwalter der vokalen Intimkunst Bohuslav Martinůs.”
Opernwelt, July 2019
“In den 1920 und 1942/43/44 (bereits in den USA) entstandenden Liedern klingt viel Volksmusik an, schwärmerisch-melancholisch ist Ihr Grundton. Janková wie Král trauern, jubeln und leiden singend, dass es eine Freude ist.”
NZZ am Sonntag, July 2019
“Martina Janková’s lyric soprano is simply ravishing. Crystal-clear, with a firmly controlled technique, she succeeds in breaking through the language barrier, fully expressing the myriad sentiments contained in these songs. The young lyric baritone Tomáš Král affirms his credentials as an immensely gifted recitalist, singing in a creamy voice with authority and sensitivity as a solo singer or as an elegant duo partner. The solidly supportive pianist Ivo Kahánek makes his participation not merely that of an accompanist but one of an equal partner of the two singers.”
Rafael Music Notes, May 2019
“Merveille des merveilles, le Nouveau Špalíček de 1942 referme ce disque infiniment précieux qui a trouvé dans le timbre de fruit mur de Martina Janková et dans le baryton humble de Tomáš Král deux poètes guidés par le clavier melliflu d’Ivo Kahánek, qui fait danser les mazurkas et arpente les sentiers, invitant dans certaines mélodies la jeune fille et le tendre garçon à dialoguer. Impossible de cesser d’écouter ce paradis.”
Artalinna, May 2019
“Her lyric instrument retains its fresh, appealing quality, and she can inflect words and musical phrases with keen, expressive definition… His singing here, like that of Janková, shows flexibility and a pleasingly wide dynamic palette. Neither is a stranger to the recording studio. This CD serves as a good introduction to their artistry, as well as to Martinů's compelling miniatures, beautifully accompanied by deft pianist Ivo Kahánek.”
Opera News, November 2019