My Homeland: 7 pieces of music that define a nation

In February 2023, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joined us at the Southbank Centre to perform one work which does exactly that; Má Vlast, Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic tribute to Czech history and culture.

But as difficult a challenge as it is to distil a country through musical notation surely, we thought, Smetana can’t be the only composer to have managed it. Here then, are seven compositions which do aim to define a nation, starting with Smetana’s own magnum opus.

Má Vlast, Bedřich Smetana

Composed between 1874 and 1879, Má Vlast is a set of six symphonic poems, each of which depicts an aspect of Bohemia’s landscape or history. The first poem, Vyšehrad, describes the castle of the same name in Prague, the seat of the country’s earliest kings. Vltava, the second poem, is a dedication to the Vltava river which flows through Prague and České Budějovice, whilst the third poem, Šárka is about the female warrior who was a key character, in the ancient Czech legend of The Maidens’ War.

The fourth poem concerns the beauty of the countryside and is titled Z českých luhů a hájů, often translated to ‘From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields’. Tábor, the penultimate poem, describes a South Bohemian town, whilst the series ends with Blaník, named for the mountain Blaník inside which it is said that a large army of knights led by St. Wenceslaus sleep. Smetana’s composition not only provided a hymn to a great nation, it stretched the very limits of what orchestral music could express. A feat made even more remarkable by the fact that only the first of the six poems was completed before the composer lost his hearing.

Germania, Ludwig van Beethoven

In 1813, as Napoleon was defeated during the Wars of Liberation, a surge of nationalism swept the length of what, two years later, would become the German confederation. The nationalistic fervour was caught by the artists of the day, among them Georg Friedrich Treitschke, principal of Viennese Theater an der Wien. Treitschke wrote a patriotic opera Die Gute Nachricht (‘The Good News’), to which several Viennese composers contributed music, including Ludwig van Beethoven who produced the music for the opera’s final scene. The opera was first performed in 1814, complete with Beethoven’s Germania which celebrates the work of Prussian King Frederick William III and Emperor Francis of Austria in defeating Napoleon and uniting the German princes.

Czech Suite, Antonín Dvořák

Smetana isn’t the only composer to have channelled the spirit of Bohemia through his music. In the same year in which Smetana completed Má Vlast, his fellow countryman Dvořák penned his Czech Suite, similarly an ode to Bohemia. First performed in Prague in May of 1879, the Czech Suite consists of five movements, each based on the common dance rhythms of the region at that time, and inspired by Bohemia’s landscape and way of life.

Finlandia, Jean Sibelius

Perhaps the best known of Jean Sibelius’ works, Finlandia was written in 1899 for the Finnish Press Pension Celebration, in effect a small-scale rally in support of the freedom of the Finnish press. Finland at this time was controlled by Russia, but nationalistic and resistance movements were growing in the country, and had been heightened by reaction to Nicholas II’s February Manifesto which sought to further devalue Finland’s autonomy. Sibelius’ work captures the mood of the time deftly, beginning with an ominous mood set with timpani and brass, moving toward a heroic call to arms as the energy of the piece builds. Initially titled Finland Awakes and played as the grand finale to a six-part suite of music on Finish history, it became the standalone piece Finlandia by the time it was first performed outside of the country, at the Paris World Exhibition of 1900.

Peer Gynt Suite, Edvard Grieg

If the music of Smetana and Sibelius can be credited with establishing a national identity for what is now the Czech Republic, and Finland respectively, then the composer to have done the same for Norway is Edvard Grieg. A founder of the Norwegian nationalist school of music, who often drew on Norwegian folk music in his compositions, Grieg was one of the foremost Romantic composers.

In 1874 Grieg was approached by his fellow Norwegian Henrik Ibsen to produce the incidental music for Peer Gynt, which having been published in verse in 1867, the playwright now wished to take to the stage. Though Grieg at times found the composition work heavy going, Peer Gynt premiered in February 1876 to much acclaim. The Peer Gynt suite includes some of the Grieg’s most famous works, particularly the short, punchy, mysterious ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King, and ‘Morning Mood’ in which serene flute and oboe replicate the dawning of a new day in the nordic mountains.

Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Manuel De Falla

Although often considered one of Spain’s most important composers, Manuel de Fella was actually based in Paris when he began working on Nights in the Gardens of Spain, encouraged to do so by fellow composers Debussy and Ravel. However, by 1914 he was back in Spain, basing himself in Grenada as he wrapped up this work, which captured the essence and spirit of his home country like nothing before it. Flush with rhythms derived from the folk music of Andalucia, the work is divided into three sections. ‘Generalife’ describes the gardens of the summer palace of Alhambra. It is followed by the darker ‘Danza Lejana’ (‘A Distant Dance’), and ends with gypsy dancing in the ‘Sierra de Córdoba’. Completed in 1916, Nights in the Gardens of Spain was premiered that same year in ​​Madrid’s Teatro Real.

Yma O Hyd, Dafydd Iwan

Written in 1983, Dafydd Iwan’s Welsh language folk song Yma O Hyd (‘Still here’) was penned as a rallying call to Welsh nationalists in the face of the effects on Wales of the policies of the British Conservative government. Rather than celebrate the country of Wales, the song instead heralds the resolve of the Welsh people throughout history, against outside threats. As Iwan explained in a 2022 interview with WalesOnline, ‘Er gwaethaf pawb a phopeth, r’yn ni yma o hyd – that is the message of the song, in spite of everyone and everything, we are still here. In spite of the challenges we face, we are still here… we are still here, overcoming challenges and fighting for a better future.’ Iwan’s song enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 when it was adopted by fans of the Welsh national football team, leading to an emotional performance by Iwan himself ahead of a World Cup play-off fixture in Cardiff.