Martinu, Bohuslav

the composer's deletions, additions and corrections written in red crayon and pencil, the entries including additional dynamics and tempo markings, revisions to metronome markings, and autograph music on c.11 pages, entered in pencil on the blank printed staves, some entries in blue ink

the pages of the score numbered '1'-'238', large folio (44.3 x 30.4cm), the title-page containing  a line of autograph musical notation in pencil, the printed score dated at the end, Rome, 1957, the annotations carried out 1957-1959?, without pages 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 120, 121, 137-156, 177-195, browning and some fraying to edges 

Harry Halbreich, Bohuslav Martinu (Zurich, 1968), pp.315ff.; Brian Large, Martinu (London, 1975), pp.128ff.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A score relating to the greatest project of Martinu's final years.

The Greek Passion, a four-act opera based on the novel Christ Recrucified by Nikos Kazantzakis, contains some of the most powerful music the composer ever wrote; indeed Martinu regarded the work as the summation of his life's work, his artistic and spiritual testament. Dealing with the story of a Greek village community under Turkish rule that proposes to enact the Crucifixion, and whose members identify themselves increasingly with the Gospel characters they are to portray, the opera was worked on by Martinu during the years 1954-1957. After original plans for a Covent Garden premiere were shelved, Martinu was able to revisit the work, and in the course of the next two years, between Schönenberg-Pratteln and Nice, largely rewrote the libretto, excising thereby large sections of recitative. The revisions to the score were completed in January 1959. The first performance took place at the Zurich Stadttheater on 9 June 1961, almost two years after Martinu's death.

The autograph entries on the present score appear to document the composer's initial attempts at a revision of the work. Halbreich notes that the final version of the autograph orchestral score is arranged as follows, with Act I on pp.1-60, Act II on pp.61-111, Act III on pp.112-176, and Act IV on pp.177-245. This diverges somewhat from the present source, in which Act I is contained on pp.1-57, Act II on pp.58-108, Act III on pp.109-176, and Act IV on pp.196-238 (pp.177-195 are absent from the score). We understand that the composer, having given up the first version after its rejection by Covent Garden, integrated the pages not contained in the present autograph into the final version of the score (now with Universal-Edition in Vienna), changing the page-numbering accordingly rather than re-writing the music.