Is it possible to dance a suite
Probably not everyone knows what a suite is. And this is an old form of dance music. Such works first appeared in the seventeenth century, and the composers are considered the founders of this musical form . The word itself is translated from French as “sequence”, “row”, very accurately showing what a suite is. This is a musical work consisting of several parts, different in character and rhythm, sometimes even contrasting with each other, but united by a common concept. At first, the suite was made up of only two parts, two dances - a slow and solemn pavana, and a fun and fast galliard. After some time, a four-part suite was formed, with a clearly defined sequence of sections. These were four dances, very different in rhythm - an alemand, a chime, a saraband and a jig. The connection of the parts took place in contrast slowly-quickly.
Over time, the suites began to include other dances - gavotte, minuet, burr, rigodon. Developing this musical form, composers began to add the non-dance part of the suite - preludes, arias. The most famous suites were written for harpsichord by Bach and Handel. The suite becomes an integral part of the ballet, now called divertissement, completing the second act. What is a
divertissement suite? Divertissement in ballet is a series of separate dance numbers connected by one theme. Suites made up of the most striking fragments of ballets and operas are also widely known. Over time, in the nineteenth century, suites take on a slightly different form. Very often they are like an illustration to a literary work - "Pictures from the exhibition" by Mussorgsky, "Carnival" by Schumann. Suites become part of theatrical productions, for example, the Ed Peer Gynt Suite. Later, such works become movie music.
Rodion Shch
edrin "Carmen Suite"A very interesting work is “Carmen Suite” by J. Bizet - R. Shchedrin. Shchedrin decided to use the technique of musical transcription, reworking in a modern form Bizet's music for the opera Carmen. Transcription was used before, even by very famous composers. So, Bach's arrangements for violin concerts of Vivaldi, music of Paganini - Liszt are known. But, of course, to take on the great opera of Bizet - it was a very bold experiment, and not all contemporaries accepted it. What is a Shchedrin Suite? Bizet's music is compressed in time to the size of a one-act ballet. Shchedrin gave the executed fragments a modern sound, creatively reworking the ingenious work of Biz
e. The premiere of Carmen Suite took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater on April 20, 1967. The ballet was written for Maya Plisetskaya. The director of the ballet was the Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso. It is curious that Shchedrin did not use
wind instruments at all in his suite
, only strings and percussion. Such a choice of instruments by the composer emphasizes the expressiveness of the characters, enhances the feeling of anxiety and the tragedy of the plot. A happy fate has developed in the transcription suite, which Shchedrin so boldly wrote. “Carmen Suite” is a favorite work of all, the production of this ballet in various theaters around the world is accompanied by constant success.