Monday, 26 November 2012
The Moldau – Analysis The Moldau (originally Vlatava), written by Czechoslovakian Romantic music composer Bedřich Smetana in 1874 (shortly after he became deaf), is, according to Machlis and Forney (1999, p. 123), one of Smetana’s finest programmatic orchestral works. The Moldau tells the story of Bohemia’s main river as it flows through the countryside of Smetana’s beloved homeland, with each section representing different, contrasting scenes. The piece is both a romantic representation of nature and a display of Czech nationalism. The composer manipulates all the musical elements and qualities to accurately portray the narrative which will be deconstructed and evaluated in this essay.
The first section of the piece represents two little springs that pour forth in the shade, one warm and strong, the other one cold and peaceful, coursing together, represented by the rippling figures and running semiquaver notes played lightly by the flute, soon accompanied by the clarinet to create a beautifully interweaving sound of polyphonic texture. The constantly changing harmonies characterise how the two streams combine, with the pizzicato string accompaniment representing frequent sparkles that reflect off the rippling surface. The quick, connected notes show how the smooth surface of the streams is occasionally rippled by gentle currents. These rippling figures then move to the lower strings, representing the strengthening currents, leading up to the next section. Soon, the little stream grows into a mighty river that flows through Bohemia’s valleys, the temperamental nature of the strings portraying its magnificence. The beauty of the river and the strong, varying currents are shown by the continuous underlying accompaniment by the strings, which, similarly to the introduction, consists of running semiquavers that consistently represent the rippling surface, also creating a light-hearted mood. The double bass symbolises the shadowy depths of the river by plucking short quavers at the beginning of each bar. In order to keep the music, as well as the river, flow, Smetana chose to make the pitch of the melody move stepwise and connected. Furthermore, its simplicity makes it very memorable, which is also contributed to by the repetition and extensions of this river theme. The cheerful mood is mainly established by the melody, which gradually moves up and down in pitch, with every second note being on the beat to create continuity, energised by the similar accompaniment in the woodwinds. A longing mood is created by the increase of dynamics whenever the pitch ascends, also intensifying and strengthening the image of the ever-changing river. As the river surges into thick undergrowth, through the shady woods, one can hear the loud, triumphant calls of the hunter’s horn, portrayed by the dominating French horns and trumpets which are playing sharp, rhythmic notes, consisting of both quavers and dotted quavers, as seen in bar 80. Keeping up the running notes, the strings remind the audience of the river’s presence. Eventually, the river leaves the deep, shady forest when the volume of the music decreases. The strings’ rippling sounds die down to a gently swaying motion to lead to the next section. During its path across the grass-grown pastures and lowlands of Czechoslovakia, the river passes a wedding feast that is being celebrated with song and lilting folk dances. The light hearted and joyful nature is depicted by the violins, showing the tradition and customs of the folks. The celebration is Christoph Kirch
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Monday, 26 November 2012 represented by an old polka, lead to by the repeated notes in the strings. The focussed and warm sound of the music effectively creates an image of the farmer’s marriage. The homophonic texture contributes to this further by adding the depiction of all wedding guests dancing synchronised. As the river continues its journey across the Czechoslovakian landscape at night, it passes wood and water nymphs dancing in the moonlight. The enchanted sound is created by the relaxed tempo and gentle dynamics, the mysterious, long notes played by the strings, accompanied by swirling figures played by the flutes and clarinets as well as chords played by the harp to create a delicate texture that presents the nocturnal peacefulness. The instrumentation of this section creates the image of the still and surreal river, the gentle staccato chords played by the brasses later in the section punctuating this image by adding the feeling of sparkling waves to the scene. Leaving the nymphs behind, the river returns to its primary state, flowing past meadows and grazing land, with its strong currents that interweave far below the rippling surface. Similarly, the original river theme reappears, however broader than before due to the added instrumentation, such as the harp and French horns. Furthermore, the change in key from E-minor to E-major in bar 264 represents the river stronger and more powerful than before, accelerating as it approaches the cascades. As the river passes the St. John’s Rapids near Prague, the loud trumpets immediately indicate the sheer strength and danger that is associated with the torrents. Smetana has used instruments extremely effectively to represent the power of the currents, such as in bar 273, when the bassoon plays very low and dark sounding double octaves. Similarly, the flutes play piecing, high pitched notes in bar 299 that accent the incredible destructiveness of the rapids, as do the exceedingly loud cymbal crashes in bars 295 and 303. Throughout the section, the whole orchestra intensifies in volume, the brass and woodwinds playing agitatedly to show the turbulent surface of the river, building up to a climax which is as loud as forte fortissimo. The music then suddenly decreases in volume, the strings accelerating, growing agitated as the river smashes over the Rapids, quickly leading up to the next section. Once again, the river theme is heard, depicting the river in its full breadth and splendour as it ultimately streams through the Czechoslovakian capital, Prague, by the rich sound created by the whole orchestra. The major key of the section shows the regal magnificence and glory of the huge river, the roaring, uniform brass notes demonstrating the beauty of the city by their proud and triumphant sound. The extremely fast tempo shows the incredible speed at which the river rushes through the city. Rapidly approaching the Elbe, the Moldau flows past the ancient castle ‘Vyšehrad’. Once again, the instrumentation plays a major role in representing the fortress; the melody, being played fortissimo by all brass instruments and consisting of many accents and sforzandos, such as in bar 360, creates the image of the grandiose castle that is the symbol of Czech nations; the cymbal crashes represent sudden strong currents and the overall disturbed river surface as it rushes past the old castle; similarly, the strings represent the turbulent river surface by the many scales and broken chords throughout the whole section. As the river leaves behind the ancient castle, it slowly settles down and loses momentum, as can be suggested by the deduction of instruments, dynamics and tempo, as well as the added use of longer, Christoph Kirch
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Monday, 26 November 2012 dotted minims in the woodwinds. The long notes held on top of the melody, for instance in bar 410, which gradually moves up and down in pitch to depict the diminutive waves which frequently move along the river surface, contribute to the image of the now calmer river. As the river flows continuously towards the Elbe, the strings go on playing the same melody, however slowing down even more and decreasing in volume until eventually the river is no longer seen or heard. Finally, the piece ends with two very forceful closing chords, a perfect cadence, played by the whole orchestra.
Undoubtedly, Smetana has effectively manipulated the musical elements to represent the Moldau flowing through Czechoslovakian landscapes; the constant running figures played by flutes or violins represent the rippled surface of the river; brass instruments indicate the power and danger; dynamics play an important role in setting the mood of the scene; the tempo and duration of notes portrays the rivers speed; the melody (river theme) is repeated several times as variations to characterise the same river in a different state and surrounding. Smetana uses his music to personify not only the river but also his beloved homeland, capturing the imagination of listeners for over a century. As Eric Olson once said, “Music is what life sounds like”.
Bibliography Cummings, R n.d., Vltava (The Moldau), symphonic poem (Má Vlast No. 2), JB 1:112/2, viewed 20 November 2012, . Kamien, R 2004, Music: an appreciation, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Machlis, J & Forney, K 1999, The enjoyment of music, 8th edn, W. W. Norton, United States of America. Guillemets, T 2012, Quotations about Music, The Quote Garden, viewed 23 November 2012, . Scribd 2009, The Moldau, viewed 22 November 2012, .
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