The Moldau: a River in Music
Two tiny springs grow into a mighty river, and an orchestra follows it all the way to Prague. Bedřich Smetana's Vltava (The Moldau), from his cycle Má vlast (My Homeland), was composed in 1874, the year he became deaf. Follow its program scene by scene (two springs played by two flutes, a hunt with horns, a peasant wedding with a polka, nymphs by moonlight, the St. John's Rapids, Vyšehrad castle in Prague), hear two interweaving running lines merge into one river that keeps growing over a current that never stops, and watch the broad theme turn from E minor to E major, where G becomes G sharp. Every pattern and theme played is our own, not Smetana's melodies. The last lesson of Stories in Music, with a look back at the whole module.
In this lesson you'll
- Follow the Moldau's program as program music, where every section paints a scene: two springs (two flutes), a hunt (horns), a peasant wedding (a polka), nymphs dancing by moonlight, the St. John's Rapids and Vyšehrad castle in Prague.
- Hear two interweaving running lines (two streams) merge and grow as other instruments join, over a flowing accompaniment that never stops, and play two running lines in E minor, one per hand, in contrary motion.
- Hear and play a broad theme in E minor and then in E major: the home chord changes one note, E G B becomes E G♯ B, and see the change on the circle.
Music in this lesson
- Vltava (The Moldau), from Má vlastBedřich Smetana · 1874 · in E minor (public domain; not reconstructed: our own patterns and theme)
Remember
Program music paints scenes: Smetana's Moldau (1874, from Má vlast) follows a river from two small springs past a hunt, a peasant wedding, moonlit nymphs and the St. John's Rapids to Vyšehrad castle in Prague, telling a story with no words at all.
Two flutes start with interweaving running notes, two streams; then other instruments join and the river grows (orchestral colour, as in Boléro), while the running accompaniment never stops, like the current.
The broad, song-like main theme in E minor (the relative minor of G major) returns in E major near the end, triumph as the river reaches Prague: the third of the home chord rises, G becomes G sharp.