Má vlast

Má vlast, which translates to "My Fatherland," is a cycle of six symphonic poems. These musical works were composed by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana between 1874 and 1879. A symphonic poem is a piece of music that tells a story or depicts a scene. Smetana combined this form, which was pioneered by Franz Liszt, with the nationalistic musical ideals of the late nineteenth century. Each individual poem illustrates a specific aspect of Bohemia's history, legends, or countryside.

While they were conceived as separate pieces, they are often performed together as a single work in six movements. This collection holds deep cultural significance and has opened the Prague Spring International Music Festival every year since 1952.

Smetana used a large orchestra to create these vivid musical pictures. The instrumentation includes piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, and two bassoons. For the brass section, he used four French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, and a tuba. The percussion section features timpani, a bass drum, a triangle, and cymbals. To add texture and specific sounds, he also included two harps and a string section.

This variety of instruments allowed him to use tone painting, which is the use of music to evoke specific sounds or images, such as flowing water or a forest.

The cycle begins with Vyšehrad (The High Castle), composed between September and November 1874. This piece represents the seat of the earliest Czech kings in Prague. The music uses a specific four-note motif (B–E–D–B) to represent the castle. This motif acts as a musical thread that connects different parts of the cycle. The piece begins with the sounds of a harp, representing the mythical singer Lumír. It then moves into the tones of the castle's arsenal and uses a march tempo to recall the castle's history. The music eventually depicts the castle in ruins, with the river Vltava flowing quietly below.

The second poem, Vltava (The Moldau), is Smetana's most famous work. Composed between November 1874 and December 1874, it is approximately 13 minutes long and written in E minor. The music follows the course of the river, starting from two small springs called the Studená and Teplá Vltava. As the streams unify, the music depicts the river flowing through woods, meadows, and past a farmer's wedding. It even captures a round dance of mermaids under the moonlight. The piece moves through the St John's Rapids and flows toward Prague, passing the Vyšehrad before ending at the Elbe.

Smetana faced great personal hardship during the creation of this cycle. In the summer of 1874, he began to lose his hearing, experiencing a permanent buzzing noise. By October 20, 1874, he had become totally deaf in his left ear, following the loss of hearing in his right ear earlier that month. Although he tried treatment involving isolation from all sounds, it was unsuccessful. Interestingly, Vyšehrad was the only piece in the set mostly completed before his hearing loss became noticeable. Despite his deafness, he continued to complete the remaining poems of the cycle.

The remaining poems cover diverse legendary and historical themes. Šárka is named after a female warrior from the legend of The Maidens' War. The music depicts her deception of the knight Ctirad and the eventual battle. Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia's Woods and Fields) focuses on the beauty of the Czech countryside through a forest melody and a village festival. Tábor is named for a town in South Bohemia and quotes the Hussite hymn "Ktož jsú boží bojovníci."

The final piece, Blaník, is named for a mountain where legends say an army of knights led by St. Wenceslaus sleeps. This piece concludes the cycle by returning to the Vyšehrad motif and the Hussite hymn.

The influence of Má vlast extends far beyond classical music circles. The famous melody from Vltava is an adaptation of the tune La Mantovana. This melody has appeared in many forms, including an old Czech folk song and the basis for the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah. The music has also been used in modern media, such as the 2006 short film Everything Will Be OK and the 2011 film The Tree of Life. Through these connections, Smetana's depiction of the Bohemian spirit continues to reach new audiences worldwide.