BEDRICH SMETANA

1824-1884

Biography

Czech composerBorn in Litomsyl Composer and conductorOne of the founders of the Czech

nationalist movement. learned violin from his father, an

amateur violinist

My country

Consists of six symphonic poems describe several aspects of Bohemia

Each of these is a complete work that can be played seperately,

The entire cycle is so organized and well planned that they can also be played in a continuos sequence, as a monumental single work in six huge movements

Vltava (Moldau) ...the composition depicts the course of the river from its beginning, where

two brooks, one cold the other warm, join in a stream that runs through forests and meadows; and the lovely countryside where merry feasts and gay festivals are being celebrated; by the light of the moon a dance of water nymphs; on the nearby cliffs proud castles, mansions and ruins rise up; the Vltava swirls in the St. John rapids, flows in a broad stream as far as Prague, passes Vysehrad and disappears into the distance where it unite with the Elbe...

Additional notes were made in the score to indicate the course of the river as it winds its way southward from the Sumava Mountains, through central Bohemia and Prague to unite with the Elbe at Melnik.

Smetana

Eight episodes

First and second sources flowing into the Vltava itself (E minor)

Forest and hunting (C major) Rustic village wedding (G major) Moonlight and dance of water sprites or nymphs

(A major) Vltava returns (E minor) St. John rapids (E major) Vltava flows in broad stream (E major) Vltava salutes Vysehrad and flows by (Emajor)

Characteristic of the Moldau

Programmatic, each poem deals with a different programme.

cyclic Subject:

history, descriptions of past glories, the prophecy of a better future, the evocations of scenery, landscapes the people who dwell there.

The contrasting subject matter was emphasized by varying the instrumentation in each movement.

Vltava is the most colourful where harp and woodwind combine in a graphic picture of the great river.

Texture: Smetana develops a polyphony that doesn't exist in his

operatic music. Double and triple counterpoint occur in Vltava during the section of St. John's rapids.

RhythmRhythms are irregular if compared to earlier works. Multi-rhythmic patterns: No less than four different

rhythmic units are presented simultaneously by Vltava's water sprites.

Resources

http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bfk4093/index.html

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Palace/5825/moldau.htm http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien/student

/olc/61.htm http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien/student

/olc/chapterindex04.htm http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/composer/smetana.html http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/smetana.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/NATMUSIC.html