Duration: 11:28

96 views

4

This is a suite of 5 miniatures for Piano, Violin, and Cello. The set mostly follows a number of dances, with a theme of Eastern-Europe, though other dances and pieces are present. Although the mood doesn't transition extremely smoothly between miniatures, I do try to capture a range of ideas within each piece. The movements are: I. Arietta, II. Khorovod, III. Polonaise, IV. Arabesque, and V. Tarantella.

The Arietta takes the form of a quasi-minimalistic miniature. The piano provides an interesting texture of open chordiods giving the impression of morning bells that ring strictly and unchanged throughout the piece. The strings provide a freeform, intertwining set of simple motives that evoke a soft breeze or a conversation between two shortly after waking up. As the melody builds, more people gather together for the Khorovod that follows shortly after.

A Khorovod (Хоровод) is one of the oldest dances in Russian and Slavic history and reflects the traditions of the pagan Slavs. Khorovod roughly means a round dance with a chorus and typically involves young women dancing in a circle with one as the leader, the khorovodnitsa. Young men would typically play instruments off to the side and sometimes join in. The khorovod was performed as entertainment, though sometimes it served for the young men and women to find partners. Here, instead of a more joyful characteristic that is often associated with khorovods, a more heavy, ritualistic characteristic is portrayed. The bells from the previous movement are dying out and a small group of young women begin the dance, with more and more people joining as the dance progresses.

The third movement is a simple Polonaise. This piece uses much more traditional harmony than the rest of the movements, serving as a break from the heavy and brash movements and evoking a fun, lighthearted mood.

The next movement, the Arabesque, brings us to a more lighthearted piece. Arabesque can mean two things here, firstly being a ballet position, and secondly a piece of music that serves to evoke the image of Arabic architecture. This piece is in an ambiguous state between the two, flipping each on their head by exemplifying the structuredness and strength of the ballet dancer and the graceful shapes and flowing atmosphere of Arabic architecture. It is completely up to the listener as to which one they hear.

The final movement is a brisk but intense tarantella. In the Province of Taranto, Italy, it was believed that the bite of a wolf spider would cause a hysteria-like condition called tarantism. In order to cure this, music of a quick, lively nature was to be played for the victim. Tarantellas are typically in triplet rhythm, though here, this rhythm is obfuscated by heavy syncopation, irregular accentuation, and hemiola.