Smetana: From My Native Land

"They are in a light style, intended more for use in the home than for concert performance". Thus Smetana described these two duets in which he memorialised his Bohemian homeland. It is a fact, though scarcely believable, that Smetana had by this time already been deaf for two years. The pieces were popular from the outset: Smetana was able to demand a high price for them, and even to play off several aspiring publishers against each other. The duets are not technically over-demanding, and attract by means of their joyful character and powerful melodies.