The Slavonic Dances represent Dvorák's first perfectly realized effort in the Czech folk manner. The 16 symphonic pieces, each embracing a multitude of moods and colors, are divided into two sets of eight and are listed in his catalogue under the opus numbers 46 (published in 1878 when he was 37 years-old) and 72 (published in 1886). The Op. 46 dances were composed at the request of Dvorák's publisher Fritz Simrock, who had been pleased with the composer's previous Moravian Duets and asked him to write a set of Slavonic Dances similar in style to the Hungarian Dances of Brahms. Dvorák set about work in March 1878 and after three months, presented Simrock with the first set of eight dances for piano duet. Soon thereafter, he realized that the full potential of this work would be best realized with opulent orchestration, and on August 2, 1878, the orchestral arrangement was sent to Simrock.

While it could be expected that Dvorák would concentrate on his own narrow corner of the Slavonic world, Bohemia, the Slavonic Dances, in fact, encompass national dance characteristics of Poland, Ruthenia, Slovakia and other parts of Central Europe that all were foreign dominated and aspiring to independence. The first dance is a triple-time furiant, or swaggerers' dance; the second consists of melancholy sections in E minor and lively interludes in major keys; and the third, with its alternating 3/8 and 2/4 sections is based on the mateník. Elements of the polonaise are suggested in the fourth dance; the fifth resembles both the skocná and vrták; and the sixth resembles the minet, the rustic equivalent of the minuet of high society. In the seventh dance, Dvorák appears to have taken as his starting point the Moravian tetka, among other sources, and the final dance of the first set is another excellent example of a furiant, featuring characteristic Dvorákian alternations of minor and major.

The success of the first set of Slavonic Dances was aided by an imprimatur-type of musical comment by his mentor Brahms. They quickly penetrated European musical circles and became extraordinarily successful in publication.



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1.Presto in C

Originally composed for piano duet, the two sets of orchestrated Slavonic Dances were first performed at the Crystal Palace on February 15, 1879.

Performed at a Presto tempo, this first dance is in a Czech rhythm known as a "furianty," a style that Dvorak also used for several of his scherzos, most notably the one in his Symphony No. 6. This basic lilting rhythm of the melody is built of one measure of three beats (two eighths, two quarters), and another measure of 1+2 quarters with a staccato skip on the first beat and a marked accent on the second. (Dvorak had a marked preference for trochaic and dactylic meters). The percussion and bass instruments emphasize the melodic rhythm and also create a inner accent: 2+1, 1+2, 1+1+1, 1+2.

The bright, innocently joyful theme is played by the full orchestra at the opening in an ebullient C major. Immediately a variation in A major echoes the theme with a pared down instrumentation for winds (minus clarinets), horns giving the backbeat accent on the second beat, and the low strings and bassoons on the first and third beats. A simple triangle on the first beat adds a lovely timbre.

The next variation of the theme seems at first to be in D major except that the lower strings and tympani keep emphasizing a C natural, which creates the feeling of a village bagpipe modal melody, until the music modulates into G major and then G minor. (This is a kind of inverted so-called "Moravian modulation," favored by the composer, which normally proceeds from a minor key to a major key one step lower). The melody is further metamorphosed in this (Lydian) mode when the full orchestra returns, ostensibly in F, but the composer is tricking our ears, as the actual key turns out to be C major.

The next variation features a kind of hurdy-gurdy imitation with the melody in parallel thirds in the oboes, the clarinets and bassoons forming an oom-pah-pah accompaniment, and the flute tootling along in rolling eighths. This is all doubled by pizzicato and lightly bowed strings. The melody gradually fragments and grows quieter. But the composer has delightfully tricked the listener again, and the full orchestra suddenly blasts out the cadence. There is a little piano dynamic laugh with pizzicato strings and staccato winds, followed by a single held note in the oboes, leading to a transition.

The second theme enters, a gradually descending staccato line in A major with one offbeat accent. This melodic form which returns to the beginning note is a definite Czech folk style. A brief bridge in B flat minor (another inverted Moravian modulation) is presented in a fluty, whistling orchestration. Flowing string create a grand waltz. All the beginning sections are then recapitulated, lightly tripping strings over drones appear before the final coda which features an enthusiastic, splashy, emphatically repeated IV-I cadence.

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2.Allegretto scherzando in E-

The Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, is the first set of eight dances written by Dvorak "to preserve, to translate into music, the spirit of a people distinct in their national melodies or folk-songs." The pieces were commissioned by Simrock, Brahms' publisher, who wanted to take advantage of the popularity of Brahms' Hungarian Dances.

Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No. 2 is a study in contrasts. Unlike the other dances in his Op. 46, which are Bohemian in origin, this is a "dumka," a piece of Ukrainian folk music likened to a lament, or meditation. Dumky, usually in duple meter and in minor mode, began as laments sung by women. Instrumental dumky began appearing in the latter nineteenth century, written primarily by Slavic composers, such as Janácek, Lysensko, Mussorgsky.

As in most of the dumky written by Dvorak, there are bright, fast sections that intersperse with the minor mode sections. This dumka begins with a thoughtful, tuneful, strolling melody in E minor, but which ends with a G major fillip. The fillip leads to a quick dance that sounds as if a dancing troupe or acrobats have suddenly appeared in the village, complete with their own band. (It is somewhat reminiscent of Offenbach's Can-Can.) Then the thoughtful melody is back, with slight variations, as is typical of the folk tradition. The ending fillip is taken up by the band, sped up, and twisted back into their quick dance of before. This alternating of the two melodies occurs once more, before the first melody finally imposes, with a coda comprised of the little fillip being repeated in various instruments as the piece drifts off. Opposite motion of the lines among orchestra voices are heard throughout the work. Smooth legato melodies are accompanied by shorter, faster figures. Figures and motives are broken up, inverted, re-combined, and played against one another, while tempo changes occur frequently. Shimmering chords are offset with bombastic ones. This dumka is not really a lamentation, but a daydream intruded upon by the excitement of the real world.

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3.Poco allegro in Ab

It was through Brahms' connections that Dvorák began his generally successful relationship with his publisher Simrock. Among the fruits of that relationship were the two books of Slavonic Dances, both of which were composed at the urging of Simrock. While Brahms also influenced the works of Dvorák, the latter did not follow his lead in his approach to the Slavonic Dances: Brahms, in all but a few instances, used genuine folk melodies in his Hungarian Dances, while Dvorák used only his own themes, albeit in folk-like spirit. Thus, this A flat major third dance, an infectious polka, has all of the flavors of Czech or Bohemian folk music, but contains original music. The main theme has a carefree spirit in its joyous, unhurried gait, but its second subject turns festive and good-naturedly boisterous. Still, the overall manner of the music in the first half is more lighthearted and relaxed than rollicking, especially in the subdued middle section. When the main theme returns, it grows more animated, its orchestration fuller and more brilliant. The music from the festive second subject closes out the work with a colorful, lively ending. This dance typically has a duration of four to five minutes.

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7.Allegro assai in C-

The first book of Slavonic Dances became widely popular throughout Europe after its Prague premiere on May 16, 1879. Thereafter, Dvorák, previously a little-known figure, commanded respect and admiration as one of the leading composers of his day. He would soon draw comparisons to Brahms, who exerted considerable influence over his works and helped him in his career. This C minor dance is one of the first book's more spirited numbers. Like No. 5, it is a skoèná, the dance form employed by Smetana in The Bartered Bride's "Dance of the Comedians." It is a jaunty kind of dance number, called a jumping dance by some. It begins in a relatively relaxed mood, the main theme a playful, somewhat chameleonic creation that suddenly turns brisk, almost furious in its pacing and celebratory manner. It also can take on a quite exotic guise or at other times seem to cackle. In the end, one must assess this joyous three-and-a-half-minute piece as one of the composer's more imaginative dances here. And despite the folk-like character of this and all the works in the Slavonic Dances, the themes are original.

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8.Presto in G-

This furiant in G minor from Dvorák's set of eight Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, is one of the most often recorded of all his dances. Brahms' publisher Simrock asked Dvorák to write the dances to capitalize on the demand for "national" music, using Brahms' Hungarian Dances as a model. This first set of dances did a great deal to secure Dvorák's standing as composer of international renown.

Unlike Brahms, Dvorák wrote original melodies in a folk style. The furiant is a Bohemian dance that typically contrasts 2/4 with 3/4 meter. In the outer sections of the Slavonic Dance No. 8, emphasis of the offbeats in the brightly orchestrated chords of a fast tune disguise the piece's 3/4 time signature, the phrase quickly alternating between the minor and the major. This serves as a framework for the entire piece. The same phrase is re-formed, first with a waltz-like accompaniment, then briefly in swirling eighth notes in the flutes, then the lower orchestra voices. The opening grandiose tune returns, leading into a slower middle section, in G major. This has a quiet legato melody, with an almost pastoral quality to it that is soon disturbed by the original melody. The entire opening section is repeated, with a coda that further mutates the main phrase, modulating it up and down the scale, changing its rhythmic sound from the duple to the triple meter and back, then heading finally into a quote of the pastoral middle section before the opening phrase finishes the dance as brilliantly as it began it. It's obvious why the short, but exciting, dance is one of the most popular of Dvorák's 16 Slavonic Dances.

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