Vltava is the
Czech name of the river known as the "
Moldau" in German. It
is also the name of a
tone poem composed by
Bedrich Smetana. It is
included in the collection known as "
Má Vlast".
From Smetana's own words 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 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 (sic) with the Elbe...
In the
score, he divides this piece into eight distinct
episodes:
- First and second sources flowing into the Vltava itself
- Forest and hunting
- Rustic village wedding
- Moonlight and dance of water sprites or nymphs
- Vltava returns
- St. John rapids
- Vltava flows in broad stream
- Vltava salutes Vysehrad and flows by
In the first section, the
flutes play back and forth, intertwining into
one flowing
melodic line, joined by various
instruments as the
river builds its volume.
The second section opens with the
french horns as if we hear the
distant call of
hunters. The
brass rounds out the rest of the hunting episode.
The next section is very
cheery and
festive, the music you might hear at a
peasant wedding, with a beautiful
melody and happy faces.
Episode four starts out with the
reeds. A very
eerie oboe,
english horn,
and
flute chord built up from the bottom introduces us to a
night scene,
moonlight shining,
you can feel the moment.
The
river itself comes back to the main focus of the music. Some
themes from the
first episode return, with a little
variation.
The last few episodes are
characterized by a sense of building. First the
rapids change the
pace of the piece, then it flows into a wide,
majestic
sound,
culminating in a salute to the
castle atop the hill, a historic landmark where the city
was first settled.