Diapason d'Or for Martinů: Songs

Recently, Supraphon’s recordings with music of Bohuslav Martinů have been praised both home and abroad. This month is not any different, Bohuslav Martinů: Songs, recorded by soprano Martina Janková, baritone Tomáš Král a pianist Ivo Kahánek, received a positive review in the April edition of Diapason magazine and, also, the highest of its awards - Diapason d’Or. 

Folk songs always belonged to one of the main sources of Martinů’s inspiration. The album contains Martinů’s songs with folk texts from his very own collection and also from collection of Moravian folk songs collected by František Sušil: Songs on One Page, H 294, Songs on Two Pages, H 302, New Slovak Songs, H 126, and The New Chapbook, H 288.

“These three artists achieve miracles in every one of the songs making up this fragrant collection: Martina Janková’s luscious voice seems to be more radiant than ever, Tomáš Král negotiates the musical syncopations and the stress patterns of the language with equal skill, and pianist Ivo Kahánek, the catalyst for the whole enterprise, is ceaselessly inventive in support. […] It was a good idea to frame the recital with some of the composer’s war-time songs, among the last he ever wrote. In these songs, he recalls his native country and his home town of Polička with an intense nostalgia, tenderly conveyed by the soprano. It was an even better idea to allow the two singers to ‘converse’ within those songs which allow the possibility. […] To make us totally happy, the artists had to give equal importance to texts and notes – sometimes even more to words. They do it with constant sensitivity and great insight,” writes Nicolas Derny in the Diapason review. 

Find out more about the album here.