In 1912, Martinů set three songs to the texts of the Polish poet Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (1865–1940). To Jašek’s Song, H 37, probably from the beginning of March, two more were added during the summer holidays spent in his native Polička: Marry Me, Mother, H 53, and Keep Talking to Me, H 66. It was not the first encounter of Martinů with this author – his early symphonic poem for large orchestra, The Angel of Death, H 17, from 1910, was based on the 1898 novel written by Przerwa-Tetmajer.
The recording of Jašek’s Song was released for the first time by Naxos in 2018 (Martinů: Songs, Vol. 5 – Saltimbanques; Jana Hrochová, Giorgio Koukl).
Jana Burdová, 2024