Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)

Čtyři písně na slova české lidové poezie (Four Songs on Czech Folk Poetry, 1940)

II. Ztracený pantoflíček (My Little Lost Shoe)

This collection of songs was not found until 1996 — nearly 60 years after Martinů penned them. After the death of Vítězslava Káprálova and the occupation of Paris in 1940, Martinů and his wife fled to Aix-en-Provence. Though it was only intended as a temporary home while they found passage to the United States, the Martinůs developed a deep appreciation for Aix, and the composer was inspired by its beauty. The couple stayed in Aix for six months before they received visas to travel through Spain and Portugal before reaching the United States, where they reamined for over a decade.

These particular songs were meant as a gift for his friend Edmonde Charles-Roux, a French writer and WWII nurse who helped Martinů and his wife reach Aix-en-Provence. "Ztracený pantoflíček" blends both Czech folk elements (a polka in 2/4 time) and jazz elements (extended chords such as 11ths and 13ths). The singer realizes she has lost her shoe and worries her mother will be angry. She asks for help calmly, but eventually becomes desperate. The tempo quickly accelerates, and the singer is left with a final patter-like verse as she frantically begs her friend Johnnie (Jeníčku) for help.

As I just a while ago from the baker’s hurried,

woe! I lost one little slipper.

Mother will be worried.

Noble sherriff, help me, please,

help me find my bootie.

Bring me back that little slipper,

it’s your holy duty!

Did I lose my little slipper in a wheat field?

Die I lose my little slipper elsewhere?

Try to find it, Johnnie dear, I beg you!

Find for me that misplaced little left shoe!

(poetic translation by Miroslav Jindra, directly from the score)