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The ''Slavonic Dances'' () are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for
piano four hands Piano four hands (, , ) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is generally referred to as a ''piano duet, piano duo''.Bellingham, Jane"piano du ...
, the ''Slavonic Dances'' were inspired by
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
's own '' Hungarian Dances'' and were orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher soon after composition. The pieces, lively and full of national character, were well received at the time and today are considered among the composer's most memorable works, occasionally making appearances in popular culture. As described on
Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...
, "Contrary to what the title might suggest, the dances are not so much inspired by Slavic folk music generally, but specifically by styles and forms from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. In these pieces, Dvořák never actually quotes folk melodies, but evokes their style and spirit by using traditional rhythmic patterns and structures in keeping with traditional folk dances." The Op. 46 set is listed in the Burghauser catalogue as B. 78 in the original piano four hand version, and as B. 83 in the orchestral version. The Op. 72 set is catalogued as B. 145 in the piano four hand version, and as B. 147 in the orchestral version. In Simrock's original edition of the piano duet, no. 3 was the D major Sousedská and no. 6 the A flat major Polka, an order apparently approved by Dvořák. Their positions were reversed in the orchestral version. Both orders are still found.


Composition

Prior to the publication of the ''Slavonic Dances'', Op. 46, Dvořák was a relatively unknown composer and was of modest means. Consequently, he had applied for the Austrian State Prize fellowship (German "Stipendium") in order to fund his composing work. After he won the prize three times in four years (1874, 1876 and 1877), Johannes Brahms, as one of the members of the committee responsible for awarding the stipend, referred Dvořák to his own publisher,
Fritz Simrock Friedrich August Simrock, better known as Fritz Simrock (January 2, 1837 in Bonn – August 20, 1901 in Ouchy) was a German music publisher who inherited a publishing firm from his grandfather Nikolaus Simrock. Simrock is most noted for publishi ...
. The first of Dvořák's music to be published by Simrock was the '' Moravian Duets'', which attained widespread success; encouraged, Simrock asked the composer to write something with a dance-like character. Unsure how to begin, Dvořák used Brahms's ''Hungarian Dances'' as a model—but only as a model; there are a number of important differences between the two works. For example, whereas Brahms made use of actual Hungarian folk melodies, Dvořák only made use of the characteristic rhythms of Slavic folk music: the melodies are entirely his own. Simrock was immediately impressed by the music Dvořák produced (originally for piano four hands), and asked the composer for an orchestral version as well. Both versions were published within the year, and quickly established Dvořák's international reputation. The enormous success of the Op. 46 dances led Simrock to request another set of ''Slavonic Dances'' in 1886; Dvořák's subsequent Op. 72 dances met with a similar reception.


Instrumentation

The instrumentation for the ''Slavonic Dances'' is as follows: ;
Woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...
: :
piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
(Op.46 only) :2
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s (2nd doubles piccolo in op.72) :2
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s :2
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s :2
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s ;
Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
: :4 horns :2
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s :3
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
s ;
Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
: :
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
:
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s :
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
:
triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
:
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
(last movement of op.72 only) ; Strings: :
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
s I and II :
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s :
violoncello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C ...
s :
double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
es


Music

The types of dances upon which Dvořák based his music include the
furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...
, the dumka, the
polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...
, the
sousedská The sousedská is a semi-slow Bohemian dance in three quarter time. It has a calm, swaying character and it is usually danced in a pair. The dance was used by some Czech composers, including Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 ...
, the skočná, the
mazurka The Mazurka ( Polish: ''mazurek'') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the seco ...
, the odzemek, the špacírka, the kolo and the
polonaise The polonaise (, ; , ) is a dance originating in Poland, and one of the five Polish folk dances#National Dances, Polish national dances in Triple metre, time. The original Polish-language name of the dance is ''chodzony'' (), denoting a walki ...
. Most of the Slavonic Dances make use of Czech dance patterns with the exception of dumka (Ukrainian), kolo (Serbian) and odzemek (Slovak). A full performance of each opus typically takes approximately 35–40 minutes.


Opus 46

*No. 1 in C major (''
Furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...
'') *No. 2 in E minor ('' Dumka'') *No. 3 in A major (''
Polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...
'') (in some editions, no. 6: see above) *No. 4 in F major (''
Sousedská The sousedská is a semi-slow Bohemian dance in three quarter time. It has a calm, swaying character and it is usually danced in a pair. The dance was used by some Czech composers, including Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 ...
'') *No. 5 in A major ('' Skočná'') *No. 6 in D major (''
Sousedská The sousedská is a semi-slow Bohemian dance in three quarter time. It has a calm, swaying character and it is usually danced in a pair. The dance was used by some Czech composers, including Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 ...
'') (in some editions, no. 3: see above) *No. 7 in C minor ('' Skočná'') *No. 8 in G minor (''
Furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...
'') Dvořák arranged No. 2 for
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
and piano under B. 170, and Nos. 3 and 8 for
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
and piano under B. 172.


Opus 72

The dances of this opus are sometimes numbered separately from the first and sometimes as numbers 9–16. Most editions give both numbers. *No. 1 (9) in B major ('' Odzemek'') *No. 2 (10) in E minor (''Starodávný'', or Dumka, traditional dance) *No. 3 (11) in F major ('' Skočná'') *No. 4 (12) in D major ('' Dumka'') *No. 5 (13) in B minor ('' Špacírka'') *No. 6 (14) in B major (''Starodávný'', traditional dance) *No. 7 (15) in C major ('' Kolo'') *No. 8 (16) in A major (''
Sousedská The sousedská is a semi-slow Bohemian dance in three quarter time. It has a calm, swaying character and it is usually danced in a pair. The dance was used by some Czech composers, including Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 ...
'')


See also

*
Musical nationalism Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...


References


External links

*
Further information on antonin-dvorak.czVáclav Talich recording Dvorak Slavonic Dances with the Czech Philharmonic in 1955
{{authority control Compositions by Antonín Dvořák Compositions for piano four-hands 1878 compositions 1886 compositions Compositions for orchestra Compositions for violin and piano