In cantata for orchestra, baritone solo, mixed choir and organ, Czech Rhapsody, H 118, Martinů abandons his current world of his inspiration and turns to youthful patriotic enthusiasm. The composer's diary from the time reads: "It originated in May and June 1918 following the famous vow of the Czech nation and under the spell of a beautiful speech by the writer Alois Jirásek." Martinů also dedicated the composition to the author, and on 18 November 1918 Jirásek sent him a thankyou note and wished the work succes.
Clearly enraptured by the idea of national freedom, Martinů chose several texts which taken together form a heterogeneous huddle, criticised by a number of music reviewers immediately after the work's premiere. The main connecting link is the Saint Wenceslas Chorale, which appears right at the beginning in the orchestral overture and is the work’s apex at the end of the entire composition. The second part is a formed by the setting of Psalm 23 “The Lord Is My Shepherd” [in translation of Jiří Strejc], which had inspired Martinů during his visits to the Evangelical church in Borová. Linking up to this choral part is the setting of Jaroslav Vrchlický's poem “Bohemia” with baritone solo. All four parts are connected by orchestral interludes. Stanislav Novák, the composer's lifelong friend and first violinist of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, said that Czech Rhapsody was a work of "ardent, almost Smetana-esque tone and, suprisingly, devoid of all the Impressionism that, however, would reoccur later on." Perhaps it was precisely owing to the fervent atmosphere that took possession of entire nation following the foundation of the Czechoslovak state that Martinů experienced the work‘s premiere as early as on 12 January 1919 at Prague’s Municipal House, even with a banquet following the concert (he did not forget to include the banquet in his caricatures, with which he cheered up his life). The cantata was such a great success that on 17 January it was repeated and on 24 January again performed (in the presence of the President of the Republic, T. G. Masaryk) at the concert for Czech writers and journalists.
The nation’s ecstasy was, however, not shared by the music critics who stressed that Martinů overburdened himself with this work and pointed to his inability to structurally conceive the theme. [...] Despite review written by Zdeněk Nejedlý for the magazine “Smetana”, other publications sang praises of the work. For Bohuslav Martinů, the performance represented an immense success, his entry into the Czech post-war music scene [...].
Sandra Bergmannová. Bohuslav Martinů: Nipponari, Magic Nights, Czech Rhapsody © 2008 CD Supraphon Music.