The Months, which was written by Martinů in 1922, is a short cycle, the first three songs of which have texts by Karel Toman. January depicts the dispossessed struggling through the snow, while March contrasts the joyous awakening of spring with the wintry feel as it persists within the subject’s heart. September begins as an evocation of the impending harvest before turning to that of the nearby congregation and the ringing of church bells which continues almost to the close. Thou Who Art In Heaven likens the benediction of the Father to the entreaties of the lover, in music whose bitonal qualities (increasingly evident in this cycle) again admit of an expressive ambiguity at the close.
The premiere took place in Paris on May 2, 1925, performed by soprano Rose Armandie. The autograph is now stored among the unprocessed materials from the estate of Máša Fleischerová and contains the songs January, March, and September.
Richard Whitehouse, “Martinů: The Months, Songs 2“, Naxos, 2014.