Kytice / Bouquet of Flowers – CD

This classical recording brings together Bohuslav Martins Bouquet, H 260 (1937), a cycle of settings of folk texts for mixed and childrens choirs, soloists and orchestra, and Jan Novks Philharmonic Dances. The performers include soprano Kateina Knkov, alto Michaela Kapustov, tenor Jaroslav Bezina, bass Adam Plachetka, the Prague Philharmonic Choir conducted by Luk Vasilek, the Khn Childrens Choir conducted by Ji Chvla, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tom Netopil. Bohuslav Martin and Jan Novk share the fate of exiles and wanderers, as well as the relationship of teacher and pupil: Novk recalled his six-month study with Martin in New York in 1947 as a decisive period in his artistic and personal development. Echoes of his teachers musical language can also be heard in Philharmonic Dances, a triptych of symphonic fantasies that gives the orchestras musicians and sections ample space to display their virtuosity. This is the works first studio recording. The albums central work, Martins Bouquet, receives a new recording more than sixty years after Karel Anerls historic 1955 version with the Czech Philharmonic. Tom Netopil brings the piece to full bloom, while the performers approach Martins settings of folk ballads with the care and sensitivity of experienced gardeners. Martins Moravian folk song was his most precious and irreplaceable source of inspiration, shaping his unmistakable musical language and drawing him back again and again.