Má Vlast

Má vlast (My Homeland) is a cycle of six orchestral symphonic poems composed by Smetana in tribute to his native Bohemia, blending the Romantic influence of Wagner and Liszt with a richly colourful Czech national style. By the autumn of 1874, Smetana as a composer and conductor had created, almost single-handedly, a Czech-language operatic tradition. Then the onset of permanent deafness forced him to resign as principal conductor of Prague’s Provisional Theatre. He overcame his despair at his condition by rapidly composing the first two component works of Má vlast. “Vyšehrad” portrays the turbulent history of the castle above the Vltava river where it flows through Prague; and “Vltava” enchantingly depicts the course of the river itself (also known by its German name, “Moldau”) through Bohemia’s countryside toward its capital city. The rest of the cycle was complete by 1879. “Šárka”, an episode from the life of the female warrior hero of Czech legend, was followed by the rapturous landscape painting of “From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields”. Next came “Tábor”, named after the city founded by the 15th-century Hussite warriors (and quoting one of their Protestant chorale hymns). Last was “Blaník”, the hill beneath which, according to legend, an army of Knights of St. Wenceslaus sleeps, ready to rise again when summoned by the Czech people. The wildly successful first complete performance of Má vlast, in Prague in 1882, established it as a Czech national masterpiece. And as individual works, “Vltava” and “From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields” have been widely performed throughout the world.