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THE MUSIC OF BOHEMIA
tremendous gradation. Surely this work ought to be heard at least in a concert hall.
Considering the technical side, Smetana's works exhibit a great skill in the most problematic combinations of the polyphonic style flowing so naturally, that the hearer does not notice the difficulties solved with such exquisite grace and lightness. The melodies are fresh, original,[1] and impressive; and enriched with Smetanian harmonic peculiarities. Speaking of the harmony, I want to disclose this fact, that in his piano sketch, "A Scene from Macbeth," composed in the year 1859, there was introduced for the first time in the history of musical literature, the whole tone scale:
- ↑ Smetana's inventive power was never exhausted; he was often compared to Mozart. By no means should his melodies be mentioned in relation with Czech folk-song; the statement about The Bartered Bride that "National melodies and national rhythms furnish the chief stock of the work," and that "the overture is a masterly setting of folk-song material in fugal style" (The Opera, vol. ix in The Art of Music), has to be corrected. There is no trace of Czech folk-song in the whole opera.
