It was composed in June and July 1955 in Nice, France to the text of the Czech poet Miroslav Bureš.
It was written for female chorus, soprano, alto and baritone solos, reciter, two violins, viola and piano.
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 Moravian Highlands, Martinů's native region.
The baritone sings as a pilgrim returning to his native land.
The Opening of the Springs, edited by Vít Zouhar, was published by Bärenreiter in the Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition volume "Cantatas on Texts by Miloslav Bureš" in 2016.