| Content | Otakar Aleš Kukla sends Miloš Šafránek Karel Krejčí's book about the Polička amateur theatre as a loan from the museum. He also sends transcripts of Bohuslav Martinů's correspondence with members of the Children's Choir of the Regional House of Pioneers and Youth in Brno:
1) a letter written in a child's handwriting and signed by 29 children of the choir addressed to BM on 18 June 1958, from the estate of Marie Martinů, handed over by Marie Pražanová to the Polička Museum on 1 October 1959. In the letter the choir introduces itself and asks BM to write a "song", the first performance of which could be sung by the DPS. They send poems they like, which could be the text of a Martinů composition.
2) BM's reply, dated 8 July 1958. The letter tells BM that he will "send something" when he returns from holiday.
3) a letter from members of the choir addressed to BM [Christmas 1958?], also from the estate of Maria Martinů, handed over by Maria Pražanová to the Polička Museum on 1 October 1959. The choir writes about its successes in competitions and asks again for a composition which it could premiere and then make available to other children's choirs in the country. Signed for the members: Eva Měcháčková, Karel Čech, Libuše Matějková, Svatava Bracílková and Eva Sedláčková.
4) BM's reply dated "In Switzerland, 3 February 1959". BM was ill, so he sent the promised LETTERS [FOR THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR] only now. He sends a manuscript to be kept by the choir, but asks for a copy to be sent. The DPS is to write how they like the songs. BM has set to music "the cockerel" plus the Smith and the children's riddles collected by [Karel] Jaromir Erben.
OAK clarifies that [Jaromir] Dostalík refers to the song "The Rooster" as "Easter" because that is the name of the poem by František Halas on whose text it is composed. The originals of both BM letters are pasted in the choir's chronicle, the manuscript of the choruses is with Jaromír Dostalík. OAK transcribes the original text of Halas's poem Easter. |