215
For his voyage to a new world, the
Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969,
Neil Armstrong took a recording of
Dvorˇ ák’s Sympony No. 9 and is said
to have listened to it as he stepped out.style. While some people hear
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in
the symphony’s first movement,
at its premiere, Dvorˇák denied
using existing Native and African
American songs. Dvorˇák believed
there was a distinction between
inspiration and imitation—whether
singing under his breath in the
orchestra pit or going straight from
work to jot down ideas, his method
was not to copy but rather to listen
then respond in his own voice.
As well as these musical styles,
Dvorˇ ák was inspired by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow’s Ojibwe
romance The Song of Hiawatha
(1855) in writing his symphony.
The third movement (Scherzo), for
example, was suggested by the
scene in Hiawatha at the feast
where the Native Americans dance.
For the second movement (Largo),evoking Longfellow’s description
of the death of Minnehaha, Dvorˇák
uses the stentorian chords of the
low wind instruments to introduce
the beautiful melody of the cor
anglais. Here, he also drew on the
old Eastern European tradition of
funerary brass music, maintained
in America by the trombone choirs
of Moravian (Czech expatriate)
communities, who would announce
a death with the playing of
trombones from the church belfry.Lasting influence
In spring 1893, Dvorˇák’s family
joined him in the Moravian
community of Spillville, Iowa,
enjoying the company of their
Czech compatriots as he completed
his Symphony No. 9—the echoes of
which would be heard in the music
of American composers, such as
Aaron Copland, George Gershwin,
and Duke Ellington. Dvorˇák himself
returned to Prague in 1895 and
again took to composing works
inspired by the dances, legends,
and folklore of his homeland. ■NATIONALISM 1830–1920
Structure of the
Ninth SymphonyThe first movement,
Adagio (leisurely), is written
in sonata form. This section
builds to a rousing climax.The second movement,
Largo (slow, dignified),
contains a solo that has
become one of the most
recognizable pieces of music
ever composed.The third movement is
Scherzo (very lively). Its
bright tunes and snappy
rhythms are reminiscent of
Czech folk dancing.The fourth movement,
Allegro con fuoco (fast and
fiery), combines earlier
themes of the piece with
marchlike music.US_212-215_Dvorak.indd 215 26/03/18 1:01 PM