Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 5 (1927-02)

238 The Phonograph Monthly Review Theater, June 11, 1881), and “Certova stena” (The Devil’s Wall, a folk legend from the 13th century,—October 29, 1882). The comic operas “The Kiss” and “The Secret,” just as charming as “The Bartered Bride,” and the romantic opera “The Devil’s Wall” were written in total deaf- ness. It is a most deplorable fact that only one of these immortal works is given in this country. “The Bartered Bride” had its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on Feb- ruary 19, 1909; on April 17, it was given by the same company in Chicago; the title role was sung by the great Bohemian soprano Miss Emmy Destinn. “The New York Herald” wrote on February 20: ‘ ‘Smetana has been called the Bohemian Mozart, which is very apt, for this music is classic in its gayety and its light-hearted charm. It is simply melody from beginning to end.” The overture is played by every symphonic orchestra in this country. Nevertheless,—our opera managements are giving rather Italian or French operas of the second and third rank than Smetana’s works of the first rank. The greatest gift of Smetana to his nation was the cycle of six symphonic poems “Ma Vlast” (My Country). The first poem of this grandiose conception, “Vysehrad,” celebrates the proud rock of this name in Prague, the seat of the first Bohemian rulers. The harp of a national bard opens the poem which sings the glory of the Bohemian nation, the loss of independence and the firm belief in the new rising of nation’s liberty. The second poem “Vltava” (usually given here in German translation “Moldau”) de- picts the river Vltava from its sources in the Bohemian frontier forest Sumava, through dense woods (the hunt) and beautiful lowlands (the wedding cortege), around the picturesque ruins of castles (the night dance of water-nymphs, one of the most charming musical descriptions ever written), through the St. John’s Rapids to the majestic Vysehrad in Prague. The third poem “Sarka” leads us in the national myths. The Bohemian Amazons are at war with the Prince of Vysehrad. Their leader, the beautiful Sarka, deceives the brave warrior Ctirad, and all his soldiers are killed. The fourth poem “Z ceskych luhu a haju” (From Bohemia’s Meadows and Forests), is a delightful idyl, congenial in mood to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. The fifth poem, “Tabor,” celebrates the most magnificent section of the Bohemian history, the Hussite wars. The last poem, “Blanik,” is the credo of the com- poser. Blanik is a hill in southern Bohemia, in which an army of knights is sleeping to come to help when Bohemia will be in the greatest danger. Smetana closes the cycle with the prophecy of the resurrection of the independence of Bohemia, —which was fulfilled on October 28, 1918. From other Smetana works the String Quartet in E minor “Z meho zivota” (From my life) must be mentioned. This gejn of modern chamber music depicts the entire life of the composer: the first movement—his youth and dreams, the sec- ond—his travels, his evenings in aristocratic circles, the third—his love for his first wife whom he had lost too early, the fourth—his efforts to find the right way for the Bohemian music and his tragedy (a high note of the first violin marks here the persistent shrill chord which whistled in his ear and was a signal of his deafness). The Trio C minor was written to the memory of his very talented daughter who died in the age of 5 years. Smetana wrote many splendid piano composi- tions, especially “The Bohemian Dances,” many Polkas, concert pieces (At the Sea Shore, etc.) ; male choruses, especially “Veno” (The Dedica- tion), “Rolnicka” (Farmer’s Song), etc.; songs (“Vecerni pisne,” Evening Songs) ; smaller or- chestral works (for instance a pompous Shake- speare March, written for Shakespeare Festival in Prague, April, 1864) ; duo for violin and piano “Z domoviny” (From My Home), etc. As to the general character of the Bohemian music, the following remarks of Dr. Zdenek Nejedly, professor at the Bohemian University of Prague, will give us the best explanation: “Czech or Bohemian music, like Czech civilization as a whole, always belonged to the civilization of the western Europe. The Czechs, [the most western of the Slavs and jutting far out from the Slav world into that of the West, lived from the beginnings of their historical period (900 A.D.) as a Western people, and therefore there was never anything exotic in the Bohemian music as it was the case with the Russians or the other Eastern Slav peoples. Consequently the greatest Czech composer, Bedrich Smetana, could not con- sider that his genius lay in the service of the romantic desire for exoticism, because this was precluded, not only by his own artistic sense, but also by the very character of Czech music. Owing to the well-known natural gift of the Czechs for music, a faculty which was once a by- word in Europe, the cultivation of music was developed to a remarkable extent in Bohemia. In the 18th century and the beginnig of the 19th century Bohemia re-echoed with the music of that time. The best proof of this is afforded by certain facts from the history of world music: it was in Bohemia that Haydn, as conductor of a nobleman’s private orchestra, composed of Czech musicians, wrote his first symphony; it was in Bohemia as opposed to Vienna that Mozart found so much understanding for his art that the motifs of his “Marriage of Figaro” entered into the flesh and blood, as it were, of the Czech people and passed into its national song; also dedicated to Prague, by way of thanks for his welcome, his greatest work, “Don Giovanni,” and again it was in Prague that was founded in 1811 the first con- servatoire in Central Europe which long provided all the theatre and concert orchestras with cap- able instrumentalists. Finally it is worth mentioning that in his book on Beethoven, Rich- ard Wagner described how he was touched when on one occasion he saw Czech “sumari” (peasant musicians) playing in the open country Bee- thoven’s Septuor, not for gain, but merely for their own pleasure. Such was the Czech musical world from which Frederick Smetana arose and such, in consequence, was the nature of his art.”