ROMANTIC PERIOD-PROGRAM MUSIC
[WRITING/LISTENING ASSIGNMENT]
Name:_____________________________
The composer of the Moldau wrote the following program preface to his score:
The composition depicts the course of the river, beginning from the two small sources, one cold the other
warm, the joining of both streams into one, then the flow of the Modau through forests and across
meadows, through the countryside where merry feasts are celebrated: water nymphs dance in the
moonlight; on nearby rocks can be seen the outline of ruined castles, proudly soaring into the sky. The
Moldau swirls through the St. John Rapids and flows in a broad stream toward Prague. It passes
Vysehrad [where an ancient royal castle one stood], and finally the river disappears in the distance as it
flows majestically in the Elbe.
How is the following “program” of each section depicted musically?
Two springs:
The River:
Forest Hunt:
Peasant wedding:
Moonlight: Dance of the water nymphs
The river
The Rapids
The River at its widest point
Vysehrad, the Ancient Castle
ROMANTIC PERIOD-PROGRAM MUSIC
[WRITING/LISTENING ASSIGNMENT]