Smetana's Polka in E-flat major

• "Polka" is a lively couple-dance of Bohemian origin
• Polkas are usually in duple time
• Polkas often emphasize the second beat of the bar via an accent or long note
• Bedřich Smetana wrote many polkas for piano
• One of Smetana's polkas is featured in his opera The Bartered Bride

Composer: Bedřich Smetana

• Smetana (1824-1884) was a Bohemian (Czech) composer and pianist from the Romantic period
• He was the first significant Czech composer to write in a nationalistic style
• Smetana is known for the opera The Bartered Bride and the symphonic poem cycle My Fatherland (Má vlast)

Title

• Op. (Opus) refers to a work or group of works
• The opus number identifies the piece

Form and Key

• The Polka is in E-flat major
• The piece uses a compound ternary (ABA) form

Section A (bars 1-17)

• Subsection a (bars 1-9): Main theme in E-flat major
  • The melody descends in pitch
  • The left hand maintains a steady rhythm
• Subsection b (bars 10-17): Continues the main theme, modulating to G minor (bars 10-13) and then returning to E-flat major
  • The melody ascends in pitch during the modulation to G minor
  • Bars 14-17 are similar to bars 1-4

Section B (bars 18-49)

• Subsection c (bars 18-25): Episode in A-flat major (the subdominant key)
  • Lighter and more straightforward in character than the main theme
• Subsection d (bars 26-41): The episode theme transposed up an 11th to D-flat major
  • Used sequentially, moving towards F minor (bars 35-41) but does not fully arrive in that key
• Subsection c (bars 42-49): The episode theme returns in A-flat major
  • The melody is doubled in octaves
  • The harmony is slightly altered

Section A (bars 50-66)

• Subsection a (bars 50-58): Main theme returns in E-flat major, same as bars 1-9
• Subsection b (bars 59-66): The main theme continues in G minor and then E-flat major, same as bars 10-17

Signs and Terms

• Vivo means lively and spirited; basso vivo means a lively bass line
• ♪ = (circa) 80-84 suggests a tempo of around 80 to 84 crotchet beats per minute
• sfz (sforzando) indicates a strong accent
• (tenuto) means held and slightly emphasized
• marc(ato) means marked (bring out that voice)
• poco means a little
• pochett[o] riten[uto] means hold back the speed a little (immediately a little slower)

Smetana's Life

• 1824: Born in Litomyšl, East Bohemia (now Czech Republic)
• Inspired by hearing Franz Liszt in recital at 16
• Studied composition with Jozef Proksch
• Worked as a music teacher during student years
• 1848: Composed Six Characteristic Pieces for piano, dedicated to Liszt
  • Published as his Op. 1 three years later, on Liszt's recommendation
• Expressed nationalistic sympathies through his music
• Late 1850s: Spent several years in Göteborg, Sweden
  • Founded a music school and a choral society
• 1861: Returned to Prague and achieved recognition as an opera composer
• Worked as a teacher, conductor, and music critic
• 1863: Wrote The Brandenburgers in Bohemia for a Czech opera competition
  • Won first prize
  • Received a successful première three years later
• The Bartered Bride achieved lasting popularity
• Suffered personal hardship: first wife and three of four daughters died in the 1850s
• Suffered from tinnitus and deafness
• Composed Má vlast (My Fatherland) despite his hardships
• Died in Prague in 1884 at age 60
• Spent final weeks in an asylum for the insane

Smetana's Major Works

• Operas: The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, The Bartered Bride
• Orchestral music: Symphonic poems such as Vltava (The Moldau) from Má vlast
• Chamber music: Two string quartets, Piano Trio in G minor
• Piano compositions: Album Leaves, Fantasies, concert etude, characteristic pieces, polkas

Style - Romantic/Nationalistic Characteristics

• Use of a nationalistic dance (the Bohemian polka)
• Lyrical melodies
• Rhythmic flexibility [within the confines of the dance style], with several notated tempo changes, and tempo rubato at the performer's discretion
• Colorful harmonies with chromaticism and expressive dissonance
• Detailed expressive instructions
• Warm textures, requiring sustaining pedal

Historical Context and Influences

• Smetana's contemporaries: Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Other 19th-century Romantic/Nationalistic composers: Chopin (Polish), Mussorgsky (Russian), Dvořák (Czech), Grieg (Norwegian)

Detailed Analysis

• A a b.1-9: Right hand has upper and lower voices, descending in pitch
  • Melody contains syncopated accents, forming suspensions
  • Lower voice is a 6th below melody and often moves chromatically
  • Left hand maintains steady rhythm
  • Hint of A flat major in b. 5-6
  • V⁷-I cadence in b.7-8, key of E flat major confirmed
  • Tonic chord in b.8 decorated with a suspension
• b 10-17: Main theme continues, modulating to G minor (b. 10-13)
  • Melody ascends in pitch
  • Chromaticism in melody and inner voices
  • Contrapuntal interest in the left hand, imitates the right hand in inversion
  • Bars 14-17 return to E flat major, similar melody to b. 1-4
  • Theme ends with V⁷-I cadence in b. 16-17
• В c 18-25: Episode in A flat major, lighter than the main theme
  • Polka rhythms
  • Right hand is a single voice, low pitch register
  • Rising and falling anacrusic motives recall part 'b' of the main theme
  • Frequent repetition of melody, harmony and rhythm
  • Theme ends with a IV-V⁷-I progression in b.24-25
• d 26-41: Episode theme transposed up an 11th to D flat major (b.26-27)
  • Descending sequence
  • Harmonies with V⁷-I progressions in descending major keys
  • Continual return to C major chord (b. 35-41)
  • Suggests key of F minor
  • Momentary lull in rhythmic activity in b.40-41
• c 42-49: Episode theme returns in A flat major
  • Melody doubled an octave higher
  • Harmonised entirely with dominant 7th (or 9th) and tonic chords
• A a 50-58: Main theme, E flat major, same as b. 1-9
• b 59-66: Main theme continues in G minor then E flat major, same as b. 10-17

This lesson explores Bedřich Smetana's Polka in E-flat major, a lively couple-dance of Bohemian origin. The piece is in duple time, emphasizing the second beat, and uses a compound ternary (ABA) form. The lesson also covers Smetana's background as a Czech composer.