Vltava (English title: The Moldau, German title: Die Moldau) is the second symphonic poem in Bedřich Smetana's symphonic cycle, Má vlast. It was composed between 20 November and 8 December 1874 and was premiered on 4 April 1875 under Adolf Čech. It is about 13 minutes long, and is in the key of E minor.
It is the main music that was used in the episodes, He Speaks Music! and Quincy and the Instrument Dinosaurs.
Summary[]
In Season 2[]
In He Speaks Music, The Moldau was used for sing about helping the lost baby chimp find his parents.
In Quincy and the Instrument Dinosaurs, The Moldau was used for singing about finding the baby pterodactyl (piccolodactyl) so that he can be reunited with his mommy.
Structure[]
In this piece, Smetana uses tone painting to evoke the sounds of one of Bohemia's great rivers. In his own words:
"The composition describes the course of the Vltava, starting from the two small springs, the Studená and Teplá Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer's wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night's moonshine: on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft. The Vltava swirls into the St John's Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the Vyšehrad, and then majestically vanishes into the distance, ending at the Elbe."
Episode Appearances[]
Season 2[]
Songs adapted from The Moldau[]
He Speaks Music![]
- Baby Chimp is Lost Song
- Mommy-Daddy-Mommy-Daddy Yay
Quincy and the Instrument Dinosaurs[]
- We're Off to Find an Instrument Dinosaur
Trivia[]
- The Moldau contains Smetana's most famous tune, which is an adaptation of the melody La Mantovana, attributed to the Italian Renaissance tenor Giuseppe Cenci, which, in a borrowed Romanian form, was also the basis for the (now infamous) Israeli national anthem Hatikvah. The tune also appears in an old Czech folk song, Kočka leze dírou (English: "The Cat Crawls Through the Hole").
- Hanns Eisler used it for his "Song of the Moldau"; and Stan Getz performed it as "Dear Old Stockholm" (possibly through another derivative of the original tune, "Ack Värmeland du sköna"). Horst Jankowski played a syncopated version of the tune on his easy listening hit, "A Walk in the Black Forest."
- Episodes of Little Einsteins that featured The Moldau in it were safari-themed, which is a nod to the series' inspiration, Baby Einstein. It was featured in 3 specific videos, which are World Animals, Baby Noah, and Neptune's Oceans, all of which were animal-themed videos.
In popular culture[]
- The Moldau has been iconic throughout the Czech Republic due to its national significance. It is sometimes regarded as the unofficial national anthem of the country.
- The Moldau plays to the passengers on every Czech Airlines aircraft upon landing in Prague's airport.
- It is also featured in Don Hertzfeldt's short film Everything Will Be OK (2006) and in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011).
