Bedrich Smetana

Moldau

Main theme from Vltava (Moldau)
The Czech composer Bedrich Smetana belongs to the national romantic period in music history. Many of his works is what we call 'program music', music that describes specific events or nature.
In 1872 Smetana started writing 6 symphonic poems which was to musically tell about his beloved Bohemia and its people's history. The second poem, Vltava, the Czech name of the river Moldau, describes the river's course from beginning to end with all the happenings along the way. This arrangement contains the beautiful and magnificent main theme.
The music is to be considered as a national treasure in the Czech Republic.

To the conductor
The tempo must not be to slow. The music is to 'float' like the river Vltava and describe the amazing scenery. All legato movement is important to reveal this effect. Dynamics and articulation helps to reinforce the image of water that flows.
If you have problems balancing part 1, this can be downloaded written for flute and alto saxophone (subpart). Part 2 is also provided with subpart for tenor saxophone.