Review:

on 2011-05-10 CharlesMartel Said:

"The Moldau" from Smetana's "Ma Vlast" (My Country) suite is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. Every time I hear it I can just imagine sitting beside the languid river as it winds its way across the Czech countryside, a warm summer in late afternoon, midges in the air, willows overhanging its banks. It paints a picture so vivid that anyone who has heard it cannot be failed to be moved by it.

I have never seen the river Moldau and do not want to - if it is a filthy polluted little stream that will shatter my illusions. I prefer to listen to the music and imagine the bucolic scene rather than experience the awful reality for myself. Sad though it may be, I have chosen imagination and dreams over reality. That is perhaps unusual given the fact that I frequently extol modern music which portrays the gritty reality of life in all its forms. But, I suppose like many others I enjoy a bit of escapism now and then and prefer to take my escapism in classical music rather than in something like the goblins and wizards of progressive rock, by way of example.

If the music sounds faintly familiar to you, but you are absolutely certain you have not heard of Smetana, not to worry. The theme music to the Harry Potter films leans heavily on the libretto for "The Moldau" for its own atmosphere. At times, you might always think the latter is a direct copy.

Once you put aside that track, this album comes across as a bit of an odd mix. Of the twelve pieces on it, six are from Smetana, including the whole of the "Bartered Bride" suite and "From Bohemias Woods and Fields". The latter, like "The Moldau", is drawn from the same musical suite, "Ma Vlast". However, it does not seem to quite convey the imagery and capture the beauty of "The Moldau". It is pleasant enough but not really something I might normally go out of may way to hunt down and purchase.

Three of Dvorak's Slavonic dances are in here too. These works capture a time and a place when the politics of pan-Slavism cut across all the cultural boundaries which the rigid nineteenth century politics of Europe imposed. Although I have several pieces by Dvorak in my collection, I am not a great fan of his music, even the more famous pieces. However, the "Slavonic Dances" are lively and engaging pieces of music and worth their inclusion on this CD.

Then there is the "Polka and Fugue" from the little known Czech-American composer Jaromir Weinberger. To be honest I have never heard him before I bought this and have not really had the urge to track down any other of his works since. He is of a later period than either Smetana or Dvorak and while prolific, Weinberger is relatively unknown today

What is odd are the remaining two tracks. One is "Hora Staccato" by the obscure Grigoras Dinicu (where do they find these people) and the other is the much more well-known, and quite beautiful "Hungarian Rhapsody No.2" by Franz Liszt. What I do not understand is that on an album about Bohemian favourites, why are there pieces from a Romanian (Dinicu) and a Hungarian (Liszt)? Suggest to either of them that they are Slavs and you are asking for a smack in the face.
Rating: 6/10