Romanian Folk Dances

Romanian Folk Dances(Romanian:Dansuri populare românești,pronounced[ˈdansurʲpopuˈlareromɨˈneʃtʲ]), (Hungarian:Román népi táncok,pronounced[ˈromaːnˈneːpiˈtaːnt͡sok]),Sz.56, BB 68 is a suite of six short piano pieces composed byBéla Bartókin 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB 76.

It is based on sevenRomanian tunesfromTransylvania,originally played on fiddle or shepherd's flute. Its title was originallyRomanian Folk Dances from Hungary(Hungarian:Magyarországi román népi táncok,pronounced[ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡiˈromaːnˈneːpiˈtaːnt͡sok]) but was later changed by Bartók whenTransylvania became part of Romaniain 1920.It is nowadays available in the 1971 edition which is written withkey signaturesalthough Bartók rarely used key signatures.

Structure

This set of dances consists of six movements and, according to the composer, it should take four minutes and three seconds to perform, but most professional pianists take up to five minutes. The list of the movements is as follows (with the original Hungarian title listed first, the most commonly known Romanian title second, and the English translation in parentheses):

1. Bot tánc/Jocul cu bâtă(Stick Dance)

   The melody of the first movement, according to Bartók, came from the Mezőszabad (present-dayVoiniceni) village that was part ofMezőcsávás(present-dayCeuașu de Câmpie) commune which was located in theMaros-Tordaadministrative county withinTransylvania,and he first heard it when two gypsy violinists were playing it.

2. Brâul(Sash Dance)
   The second movement is a typical dance from Romania calledBrâul,for which traditionally a sash or a waistband was used. This melody came from Egres (present-dayIgriș), in theBanatregion.
3. Topogó/Pe loc(In One Spot)
   The third dance comes also from Egres (Igriș), but its theme is much darker and its melody recreatesMiddle Easterninstruments, such as the flute.
4. Bucsumí tánc/Buciumeana(Dance from Bucsum)
   The fourth dance came from Bucsony,Alsó-Fehér County(todayBucium,Alba countyin Romania).
5. Román polka/Poarga Românească(Romanian Polka)
   The fifth dance is an old Romanian dance similar to the Polka and comes from Belényes (present-dayBeiuş,inBihor county), near the border between Hungary and Romania.
6. Aprózó/Mărunțel(Fast Dance)
   The sixth and last dance is formed by two different melodies: the first from Belényes (present-dayBeiuș) and the second from the village of Nyagra (present-day Neagra) within the Palotailva (present-dayLunca Bradului) commune.In both the orchestral version and the original piano version, the final two dances are performedattacca—without a break between movements.

Analysis

Movement	Tempo	Time to perform	Key	Form	Mode
Bot tánc/Jocul cu bâtă	Allegro moderato = 104	57 seconds	A minor	Binary	DorianandAeolianon key centre A
Brâul	Allegro = 144	25 seconds	D minor	Binary	Dorian centered on D
Topogó/Pe loc	Andante = 90	45 seconds	B minor	Binary	Aeolian and Arabic influence (augmented seconds) on key centre B or Gypsy scale without leading-tone
Bucsumí tánc/Buciumeana	Moderato, = 100	35 seconds	A major	Binary with 2 tunes	Phrygian dominant scaleon key centre A
Román polka/Poarga Românească	Allegro, = 152	31 seconds	D major	Binary with 2 tunes	Lydianon key centre D
Aprózó/Mărunțel	Allegro,= 152, after Più Allegro = 160	13 and 36 seconds	D Major, modulates to A major	3 tunes and coda	Key Centre A; first part begins with Lydian, but is in Mixolydian; second part is in Dorian

Arrangements

Aside from the version Bartók wrote for a small orchestral ensemble, some of Bartók's friends wrote adaptations or transcriptions of this piece for several different ensembles. The following are the best-known:

• Arthur Willner's version forstring orchestra.It is a mere transcription with no modification of the original music.
• Zoltán Székely's version for violin and piano. This is not just a transcription, but also an arrangement and adaptation of the piece for these two instruments. Some of the modifications Székely made included transposing some of the movements (the second movement was transposed from D minor to F♯minor, the third from B minor to D minor and the fourth from A major to C major), repeating some sections, adding bars, and using several techniques for the violin such asartificial harmonics,double stops,andSautillé.

Notable recordings

Notable recordings of this composition include the following:

Piano Solo	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
András Schiff	Denon Records/ Brilliant Classics	1980	CD
Jenő Jandó	Naxos Records	2005	CD

Notable recordings of the arrangement by Zoltán Székely include the following:

Violin	Piano	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Joseph Szigeti	Béla Bartók	EMI Classics	1930	CD

See also

• Two Romanian Folk Dances
• Culture of Romania
• Béla Bartók
• List of compositions by Béla Bartók
• Transylvania

Further reading

• Hinson, Maurice (December 1991).Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, for the piano(Alfred Masterwork ed.). Alfred Publishing.ISBN978-0-88284-864-8.
• Kroo, Gyorgy (1974).Guide to Bartok.Branden Publishing Co.ISBN978-0-8283-1559-3.
• Suchoff, Benjamin (1993).Béla Bartók essays.Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.ISBN978-0-8032-6108-2.
• Antokoletz, Elliott; Fischer, Victoria; Suchoff, Benjamin (2000).Bartók perspectives: man, composer, and ethnomusicologist.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-512562-7.
• Yeomans, David (1988).Bartók for piano.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.ISBN978-0-253-21383-9.

External links

• Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56:Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project
• Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68:Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project