Smetana: Má Vlast

Kuchar, Theodore;
Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra

94853

Bedřich Smetana was a forerunner of the Nationalist music movement in 19th-century Czechoslovakia, and played a large part in developing the country’s musical identity. This disc comprises Smetana’s most renowned work, the inimitable Má vlast (My Homeland), a series of six tone poems – composed over five years – that depict different elements of the landscape of the composer’s native country. Vyšehrad, or The High Castle, is the first movement, based on the castle in Prague – the residence of early Czech kings. It opens with arpeggios played by a duo of harps, and later a military element is portrayed with the help of a march theme. The second movement Vltava (The Moldau), depicts the route of the river from the mountains to its end. Šárka, the third movement, explores the Czech folklore centred on the Bohemian Amazon maiden of the same name. This is followed by Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia’s Meadows and Fields); a depiction of a beautiful landscape on a sunny day.

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Brilliant Classics

13-11-2019

5028421948539