The Bitter Earth (Horká hlína) cantata was written in 1960 and it was originally conceived for a mixed choir and organ. The composer soon found, however, that this instrumental accompaniment limited the performance possibilities of the piece to a certain extent and he therefore created a piano transcription of the organ part for a later edition which was printed in 1987. The composition sets to music the verses of Jaroslav Seifert from the collection Turn Out the Lights (Zhasnete svetla) which w...