The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires (Parts)

Martinu The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires (Parts)

After the extraordinary success of the cantata Opening the Wells, Martinů composed another work in 1956 in Rome, based on texts by the poet and native of Polička, Miloslav Bures.  The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Fires, is scored for soprano, contralto and baritone soloists, mixed choir, recorder, clarinet, horn, accordion and piano, and is the second of four cantatas based on Bureš's texts. 
The simplicity of the melodic line, and of the harmonic structure, often with one or two accompanying chords, and the clear tonal anchoring of each piece are common to all the works.  Also common is the composer's innermost declaration of love for his native land. 

- vocal text and prefaces are in Czech, English and German

- full score also available (H2996)