František Matej Hilmar (1803-1881) comes from the area of Königgrätz. He belongs to the musical genereation of Josef Labitzky who was called the "bohemian Strauss". His Polkas might have influenced Bedrich Smetana in his younger years.

The name of his Polka Esmeralda from 1838 is taken from "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo. Esmeralda is an intelligent and ravinshingly beautiful gipsy. And she is the only friend of the ugly hunchback "Quasimodo".

The music of the polka expresses...