SMETANA: Má Vlast [CD de audio] Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Smetana and Theodore Kuchar

Bedich Smetana was a precursor of the nationalist music movement in 19th-century Czechoslovakia and played a large role in the development of the country's musical identity. This recording comprises Smetana's most famous work, the incomparable Má vlast (My Homeland), a series of six symphonic poems composed over five years that represent different elements of the landscape of the composer's homeland. Vyehrad, or The High Castle, is the first movement, based on Prague Castle, residence of the first Czech kings. It opens with arpeggios played by a harp duo, and later a military element is represented with the help of a marching theme. The second movement, Vltava (The Vltava), represents the journey of the river from the mountains to its mouth. árka, the third movement, explores Czech folklore centered on the Bohemian Amazon maiden of the same name. This is followed by Z eských luh a háj (Of the meadows and fields of Bohemia); a representation of a beautiful landscape on a sunny day. These first four movements were intended to complete the work, but after a four-year hiatus, Smetana composed two more: Tábor, portraying the Hussite warriors who founded and defended the city of Tábor in 1420, and Blaník, named after the mountain in the center of Bohemia. This, the last movement, begins with the same impetuous rhythms as Tábor and later relaxes into a joyful hymn. It is easy to see how this work paved the way for Smetana to be heralded as one of Czechoslovakia's greatest composers and patriots. The works are performed by the Janáek Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of The odore Kuchar.