Martinů uses just a third of the poem The Three Virgins, H 73 (Tři panny za světlé noci, 1910). He probably intended to continue, but the only accessible autograph ends abruptly at bar 100. This is not the only time that we find him using only parts of poems in songs he composed, copied out and prepared for printing. The impressionistic mood of the text by Antonín Sova (1864–1928), a symbolist poet of the Czech avant-garde, enchanted the young Martinů who was always very sensitive to the quality of the poetry he liked to use. The outside world of suffering, disillusion and poverty, in strong contrast to the exotic and dream-like environment of the poems, fully reflected the aesthetic needs of the young composer who creates here an extraordinary harmonic image. The recording of the composition was released for the first time by Naxos in 2016 (Martinů: Songs, Vol. 4 – The White Dove; Jana Hrochová, Giorgio Koukl).
Giorgio Koukl, Martinů: Songs, Vol. 4 – The White Dove, Naxos 2016