The autograph of so far unknown song series Four Songs on Czech Folk Poetry (Čtyři písně na slova české lidové poezie, H 282bis) was discovered in 1996 in Southern France thanks to the help of the painter Rudolf Kundera, the composer’s long-time friend. Martinů composed them on December 4, 1940 in Aix en Provence as a gift for his friend Edmonde Charles-Roux who helped him during his effort lasting many months to obtain a Spanish transit visa. Martinů achieved his goal only at the end of December, so he was able to continue his dramatic flight from the Nazi peril which took him from Southern France through Spain and Portugal to the USA.
With their composition mastery and conception as a whole, Four Songs belong to the other known vocal compositions of Bohuslav Martinů from the early 1940s (Songs on One Page [H 294], Songs on Two Pages [H 302], The New Špalíček [H 288]). This affinity is so strong that if it were not for the last short song, it would be possible to call this series “Songs on Four Pages”.
The first song “Horses on a Fallow Field” (lyrics from Klatovy region) uses the so-called “mateník” (confusing dance) in a highly stylized form. In contrast from a more or less regular alternation of binary measures and triplexes, which is typical of the folk dance “mateník”, Martinů created by a series of uneven and common measures a more complex structure which seems very natural in its rhythm and does not aspire at confusing the listener more than a classical “mateník”. “The Lost Slipper” (lyrics from Prácheňsko region) is a fast polka, reminiscent by the combination of Czech folk music and jazz echos of Martinů’s Three Czech Dances [Tři české tance, H 154] for piano of 1926. “Religious Song” (lyrics from Hradec region) departs from this series by its religious theme which was underlined by Martinů by using a simple syllabic rendition of piano accompaniment. While all other songs of the series have been taken from the section “Songs of the Age of Bachelorhood and Virginity” of Erben’s collection, this one comes from the section “Narrative Songs”. The brief “Invitation” (lyrics from Budějovice region) closes the whole series in meditative mood, corresponding with the circumstances of its inception.
Eva Benešová and Aleš Březina, concert programme Bohuslav Martinů Festival, 8 December 1997.