18
SA
OCTOBER 2025
SA
Convergence 2025 | The Opening of the Springs
Saturday 18 October 2025, 6.00 pmKostol Cirkvi bratskej, Bratislava, Slovakia
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Three Madrigals (Duo No. 1) for violin and viola, H 313
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Madrigal-Sonata for flute, violin and piano, H 291
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Czech Nursery Rhymes, H 209
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Three Part-Songs, H 338
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: The Opening of the Springs, H 354
Ivica Gabrišová (flute)
Michaela Hrubá (violin)
Daniel Rumler (violin)
Martin Ruman (viola)
Nora Skuta (piano)
Cansona Neosoliensis (female choir)
Veronika Veverková (choirmaster)
Lenka Kubíková (soprano)
Miriama Trembáčová (alto)
Gregor Zubek (baritone)
Zuzana Máliková (piano)
František Kovář (narrator)
The beloved cantata The Opening of the Springs, composed in 1955 to the poem Song of the Ruby Spring by Miloslav Bureš, who, like Bohuslav Martinů, was born in the Czech town Polička, recalls an ancient folk tradition of welcoming spring. For the 65-year-old composer, the work represented “an apotheosis of mature wisdom which, despite the errors of adulthood, humbly returns to the innocence of a pure child’s soul and the truth of ordinary life.” (Jaroslav Mihule). The performance by the women’s academic choir Cansona Neosoliensis, led by Veronika Veverková, will be complemented by choral works set to folk poetry and to texts by Karel Jaromír Erben.
“In madrigals, each group phrases with absolute independence,” noted Bohuslav Martinů, who applied this principle not only in his choral works but also in several instrumental compositions. The Madrigal Sonata was written in the autumn of 1942, between the completion and the successful premiere of his First Symphony. It was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the American League of Composers. Duo No. 1 “Three Madrigals” for violin and viola is among Martinů’s most popular chamber works. Dedicated to the sibling duo Joseph and Lilian Fuchs, the piece draws inspiration not only from the Renaissance but also from Mozart’s works for the same instrumentation.
More information: https://www.konvergencie.sk/eventdetail/68791c20c94c0c5b71a9a1e5/