Czech Philharmonic Prague, Philharmonic Choir Vasilek, Manfred Honeck - Martinů: The Epic of Gilgamesh (2017)

The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, from about 2100 B.C.E., may be regarded as the first major work of literature, containing the Great Flood, the quest for immortality, the civilization/nature dichotomy, and other great themes. With its introspective central character it would seem a natural for musical treatment, but these have been sparse. An exception is this 1955 work by Bohuslav Martinu, which the composer wrote largely in the United States, following the epic's original English translation; having witnessed World War II and the Communist takeover of his native Czechoslovakia, he worried that the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy presaged more of the same. He also felt that no one in his home country would perform the work. Later it was translated into Czech, and that version became better known; this is apparently the first recording of the original version. Sonically the recording of a live concert in early 2017 is strong. The soloists and the speaking narrator, Simon Callow, are all native English speakers except for bass Jan Martinik, and this large-scale choral-orchestral music is right in the wheelhouse of conductor Manfred Honeck and the Czech Philharmonic. Sample the third part, Invocation, beginning about four and a half minutes in, where Gilgamesh summons the spirit of his deceased friend Enkidu: it is here that Martinu achieves a sense of the text's mysteries. It doesn't always happen in the earlier sections, which are chorus-heavy, and the work lacks the effortless grace of the composer's earlier music. Martinu refused to classify the work as an oratorio, and there is some question as to exactly what it is. But Martinu fans will welcome this recording, perhaps the closest approach to the composer's intentions for the work.