The Moldau Analysis

General Background (Era, Composer, Genre, Form)

• Era: Romantic (1830–1900) • Genre: Symphonic poem (single-movement orchestral program music) • Form: Through-composed • Composer: Bedřich Smetana

Historical Context

• 2nd movement from Smetana's 6-poem cycle Má vlast (My Fatherland) • Written between 1874 and 1879 • Composed while Smetana was becoming completely deaf

Cultural & Sociopolitical Context

• Key symbol of Czech national identity, nationalism, and pride • Depicts Bohemian history, landscape, and mythology • Cycle unified via an idée fixe / reminiscence motif of Czech national associations

Key Musical Themes

• Focus on nature and countryside • Musical depiction of extramusical program themes • Organicism (unifying all musical ideas) • Expression of 19th-century Czech nationalism

Instrumentation (Orchestra Setup)

• Woodwinds: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in C, 2 bassoons • Brass: 4 French horns in C, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, 1 bass trombone + tuba • Percussion: Timpani (in E, H/B), triangle, bass drum, cymbals • Strings/Other: Harp (or keyboard), Violin I/II, Viola, Violoncello, Double bass

Smetana's Background

• Czech composer and key figure in Czech national music movement • Lived from 1824 to 1884 • Found success working as teacher/composer in Sweden • Continued to compose despite complete deafness in 1874 • Known as "father of Czech music"

Origins of the Tone Poem

• Originated in 1850s by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt • Coined term to express extra-musical ideas (literature, art, nature) • Single-movement orchestral work with free form to tell a story or evoke mood

Expressive Musical Terms

• Allegro commodo non agitato: Fast/lively, with comfort, no agitation • Lusingando: Soft, tender, coaxing manner • Pizzicato / Pizz: Pluck string • Arco: Play with bow • Ondeggiante: Undulating, with vibrato • Dolce: Sweetly

Form & Section Keys

• Intro (Source of River): E minor • Sec A (Moldau River Theme): E minor • Sec B (Forest Hunt): C major • Sec C (Country Wedding): G major • Sec D (Moonlight Nymphs): Ab major • Sec A' (River Theme): E major • Sec E (St John's Rapids): Developmental • Sec A'' (River Theme): E major • Sec F (Vysehrad theme): E major • Coda: E major

River Intro & Streams

• Undulating ascending motif in E minor in flutes (cold stream) • Sparsely punctuated pizzicato chords in violins/harp • Second brook presented descending in clarinets (mirror image inversion) • Two water sources interweave, combining into single stream before River Theme

River Theme Characteristics

• Dramatic timbral shift with thicker texture (violins/oboes present theme) • Popular, folksong-like quality • Adaptation of melody La Mantovana (also used in Israeli anthem Hatikvah and Czech folk song)

Forest Hunt Section

• Sudden unexpected modulation to submediant C major • Horns and trumpets blare hunting call with arpeggiated leaps • Undulating semiquavers in violins keep river sound flowing underneath

Country Wedding Section

• Quick modulation to G major • Rhythmic, joyful Polka theme representing Slavic wedding guests • Homophonic and largely homorhythmic texture

Moonlight Nymphs Dance Section

• Shift to Ab major with drastically quiet dynamic (ppp) and ethereal texture • Muted strings play long-note melodies punctuated by harp arpeggios • Persistent B-natural pedal point in cellos/bass

St John's Rapids Section

• Surging waters depicted with jarring fortissimo (fff), insistent brass chords, and frantic string semiquavers • Unstable, searching, modulatory harmony with heavy chromaticism • Builds to climactic peak before dropping to sudden subito pianissimo

Vysehrad Theme & Coda

• Triumphant brass section with homorhythmic solidarity and majestic rhythmic augmentation • Strings feature frantic ascending septuplets/octuplets (waves crashing against rocks) • Coda upper strings arpeggio slows down, texture thins, ends with two triumphant chords (V7 -> I)

Romantic Era Symphonic Music

• Focus on deep personal emotions, drama, and passion • Expanded orchestra size for wider dynamics and colour • Freedom of form breaking away from strict classical structures • Long, sweeping emotional melodies alongside dynamic/rhythmic complexity

Musical Characteristics of Nationalism

• Incorporation of folk tunes, melodies, rhythms, and regional languages • Reinforcement of national history, legends, landscapes, and identity • Programmatic content describing specific national places (e.g. Vltava describing Czech river)