My Fatherland (Ma Vlast), No. 6: Blanik: Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

MÁ VLAST (MY FATHERLAND) is a collection of six symphonic poems composed by Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) between 1874 and 1879. Conceived as individual works, though commonly presented as a single work in six movements, each symphonic poem reflects the ideals of nationalistic music pioneered in the late nineteenth century, with each depicting an aspect of Bohemia's countryside, history, or legends. Smetana composed Blaník, the sixth and final symphonic poem of My Fatherland (Má vlast), at Jabkenice between December 1878 and March 9, 1879, completing the monumental cycle he had begun in 1874 and, significantly, had written after becoming completely deaf; together with the preceding Tábor, Blaník reflects the nineteenth-century Czech national revival and draws upon Hussite history and legend as symbols of national identity and perseverance. The title refers to Mount Blaník in Bohemia, where, according to an enduring Czech legend, an army of knights led by Saint Wenceslaus sleeps within the mountain, destined to awaken and come to the nation's aid in its hour of greatest peril; musically, Smetana binds the final two poems together through the Hussite chorale Ktož jsú boží bojovníci ("Ye Who Are Warriors of God"), with Blaník beginning from the unresolved music that closes Tábor and ultimately transforming the chorale into a triumphant affirmation. Near the conclusion Smetana recalls the majestic theme of Vyšehrad, the cycle's opening poem, thereby uniting the legendary past represented by Prague's ancient fortress with the Hussite tradition and bringing the entire six-part conception to a powerful cyclic resolution. Blaník received its premiere on January 4, 1880, at the Žofín Palace in Prague, with Adolf Cech conducting the Czech Theatre Orchestra; the complete Má vlast was first performed at the same venue on 5 November 1882, again under Cech, in a concert that became an extraordinary public celebration of Smetana and Czech national music. Today, Blaník is most often encountered as the culmination of the complete Má vlast rather than independently, and although Vltava remains by far the cycle's most familiar individual movement, Blaník holds an essential place in Czech orchestral culture as the work's affirmative conclusion; Má vlast as a whole stands among the central monuments of Czech music and has traditionally opened the Prague Spring International Music Festival on May 12, the anniversary of Smetana's death. Instrumentation: 2+1(Picc).2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(2): Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set). Reprint edition.