''The Opening of the Wells'' ( cs, Otvírání studánek; also known as ''The Opening of the Springs''), H. 354 (1955) is a chamber cantata by the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

. It was composed in June and July 1955 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to the text of the Czech poet Miroslav Bureš. It was written for female chorus,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

solos, reciter, two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. The composition was dedicated to "Miroslav Bureš and our

Moravian Highlands Moravian is the adjective form of the Czech Republic region of Moravia, and refers to people of ancestry from Moravia. Moravian may also refer to: * a member or adherent of the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant denominations * Moravia ...

". The composition is a part of the four-part cycle of cantatas (''The Opening of the Wells'', ''Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires'', ''The Romance of the Dandelions'', ''Mikeš of the Mountains''); all are connected with the

, Martinů's native region. The cantata relates to the customs around welcoming

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

, and the cleansing of springs of detritus at the end of winter. The baritone sings as a pilgrim returning to his native land.

Recordings

*Opening of the Wells, Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires, Mikeš of the Mountains. CD. Supraphon 110767-2231.

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition

''The Opening of the Springs'', edited by

Vít Zouhar Vít Zouhar (born 1966) is a Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lec ...

, was published by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

in the

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition (BMCE; Souborné vydání děl Bohuslava Martinů in Czech) aims to publish the complete works of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959). The BMCE is a complete historical critical edition of all the ...

volume "''Cantatas on Texts by Miloslav Bureš''" in 2016.

References

*Martinů, Bohuslav: ''Otvírání studánek. Partitura a instrumentální hlasy.'' (Score) Prague: Editio Bärenriter, 1996. H 2122
Martinů Institute ''Otvírání studánek'' page, in Czech

External links

Bohuslav Martinů Institute
Compositions by Bohuslav Martinů 1955 compositions Cantatas {{classical-composition-stub