MEN-n-MUSIC PRESENTS
Die Moldau - Vltava from Má vlast
play time 12:14
Bedřich Smetana
Born March 2, 1824 in Litomyšl, Czech Republic
Died May 12, 1884 in Prague, Czech Republic
Smetana was the first composer to write music based on Czech themes
and myths. Besides the operatic comedy, The Bartered Bride, Smetana is
well known for his vast orchestral monument to his nation, a glorification of
the country and it's people, which became known as the cycle of six
symphonic poems entitled Má vlast (My Country).
The most popular one of the symphonic poems is the second one Vltava,
the Czech name of the great river in the Czech Republic; known as Moldau
in German. It was given a full description by the composer himself in 1879:
"... 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 runs through
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 unites with the Elbe..."
In 1874 there appeared the first signs of the syphilis that was to result in
Smetana's swift deafness, but he continued to compose, completing Vltava.
Smetana also suffered from tinnitus, which caused him to hear a continuous,
maddening high tone. By 1882, Smetana's mental equilibrium was seriously
disturbed with the progression of his neurological illness.
To celebrate Smetana's sixtieth birthday, a festival was arranged by the
combined Bohemian musical societies - but on that day Smetana lost his
reason and he was taken to the Prague Lunatic Asylum, where he died
the following month.
Smetana's creation of a national musical style (carried on by composers such
as Antonín Dvořák) marks an important chapter in the Romantic Movement
of the nineteenth century.
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