Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition
It is based on the scholarly assessment of all available sources and analysed with the newest methods of textual criticism and music philology.
[4] Previously, many of Bohuslav Martinů’s compositions were either unaccounted for, available only as low-quality reproductions of autographs or manuscript copies, or provided with inadequate editions; published works contained errors and problematic performance solutions or were out of print or otherwise inaccessible.
[5] For this reason alone, a new critical edition is a much-needed enterprise in the fields of music philology, interpretation, and history, even if it were to provide no new findings or unpublished compositions.
[6] The BMCE is based on meticulous scholarly work, the research of primary sources, and the latest methodological standards and experience in music philology.
Extensive forewords and critical reports also present the latest findings; besides the “last authorised version",[7] alternative original readings are provided alongside interventions by musicians, publishers, and producers.
[6] The editorial guidelines match cutting-edge trends in contemporary music publishing (download here) while respecting the peculiarities of the composer’s notation.
[2] A detailed overview of the editorial guidelines, the structure of separate volumes, and the publication schedule was published in Hudební věda by the Director of the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in 2004.
[10] The BMCE also aspires to disseminate lesser known, previously unpublished, or newly discovered compositions to the repertoires of world-famous ensembles.
"[11] The complete edition of Martinů's works is a project that makes exacting demands on funding, timing, and staffing.
[13] The editorial board of the BMCE comprises leading experts – musicologists – from all over Europe, who have experience with the critical editions of other major composers:[11] The editorial board is headed by the presidium, which wields decisive authority; it is chaired by presidium, which wields decisive authority; it Aleš Březina], Director of the Bohuslav Martinů Institute.
The work of individual editors is presented alongside new findings and research, and conceptual issues, potential changes, and adjustments to BMCE guidelines are discussed.
Editors must study and critically assess the autograph of the work, manuscript copies, first prints, correspondence, and mentions in the press related to the given composition, performance materials, etc.
Since its foundation in 1995,[17] the Bohuslav Martinů Institute “has developed into an internationally recognised organisation that […] is an example and inspirational concept for other similar projects both at home and abroad.”[18] Editorial work tends to be planned out decades ahead of time.
Facsimiles[9] The publication schedule takes into account the availability of sources and existing publishing rights to the works while striving to balance the content of individual volumes and editors’ capacity.
[20] All of the previously published volumes include a detailed foreword (which presents current knowledge regarding the genesis of the work etc.)
[20] The very first published volume of the BMCE was the oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh, H 351, edited by Aleš Březina, Director of the Bohuslav Martinů Institute.
[21] The high quality of the volume is also praised by Czech musicologist Jiří Zahrádka, who regards it as “an exemplary treatment for other works of this sort.”[2] The same year also saw the publication of Martinů’s Symphony No.
[24] The third volume with chamber music for 6 to 9 instruments, edited by musicologist Jitka Zichová (Bohuslav Martinů Institute) in 2015, comprised Les Rondes, H 200, Serenade No.
“The compositions are written for unusual performing forces, but they share a high level of originality and artistic quality.
[26] In 2016 the composer and music professor Vít Zouhar prepared Martinů’s four chamber cantatas Opening of the Springs, H 354, The Legend of the Smoke from Potato Tops, H 360, A Dandelion Romance, H 364, and Mikesh of the Mountains, H 375.
International ensembles might be hampered by the decision to underlay the notation with Czech lyrics only (translations are printed at the end of the volume).
The group of editors was headed by Aleš Březina; the volume, published in 2017, provides the composer’s last authorised versions of the quartets.
Interested readers will also find a version free of the first-edition amendments and facsimiles of important documents and sketches.
[27] The sixth volume of the edition by Christopher Hogwood (deceased), Marek Pechač, and Pavel Žůrek was published in 2018 and comprises Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, H 207, and Sinfonia Concertante, H 322.
11 and 12): symphonic pieces The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca and The Parables were edited by Janina Müller and Arne Stollberg and released in 2023.
