Danzas Argentinas

Danzas Argentinas

The Danzas Argentinas (Argentine Dances) are a piano composition by Alberto Ginastera, one of the leading Latin American composers of the 20th century. Written in 1937, they are set of three dances, and they encompass his Opus 2.

The first piece, Danza del viejo boyero (“Dance of the Old Herdsman”), immediately strikes the ear as being odd. The reason is as simple as it is strange: the left hand plays only black notes, while the right plays only white notes. This means it is composed of two modes, the prominent one being E phrygian. Despite the seemingly unavoidable cacophony of that arrangement, Ginastera manages to frame a simple and charming melody through the use of rhythm and texture. The piece ends with a chord (E-A-D-G-B-E) the notes of the open guitar strings in standard tuning. Perhaps as a result of his Spanish background, this was one of Ginastera’s favourite chords.

Danza de la moza donosa (“Dance of the Beautiful Maiden”) is a gentle dance in 6/8 time. A piquant melody meanders its way through the first section, constantly creating and releasing tension through the use of chromatic inflections. The second section introduces a new melody, more assured of itself than the first. The harmonisation of this section is based on the intervals of the fourth and fifth, which give the music a feeling of expansiveness. This sound, which Ginastera uses frequently, reflects the vastness of the Argentine pampas (grasslands). The final section returns to the opening melody, but with a richer harmonisation based on thirds.

With directions such as furiosamente (“furiously”), violente (“violent”), and salvaggio (“wild”), Ginastera left no doubt as to how the third dance, Danza del gaucho matrero (“Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy”), should be performed. Ginastera makes use of gratuitous dissonance in this piece, often using minor seconds to harmonise otherwise simple melodies. The structure is an approximate rondo (ABACDACD), and the thematic material alternates between chromatic passages (sections A and B) and highly tonal, melodic passages (C and D). The jubilant sound of the C section is achieved by harmonising every single melody note with a major chord, even if they are totally foreign to the tonic key. The D section, by contrast, does not use a single accidental; here, jubilance is expressed through the use of brisk tempo, strong rhythm, fortissimo, and a simple, majestic chord progression. As might be expected from the savageness of the rest of the piece, the coda is anything but subtle: ffff dynamics and a tremendous glissando bring the dance to a close.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Danzas nativas argentinas — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Danzas nativas argentinas Orígenes musicales: Folclore argentino Orígenes culturales: Instrumentos comunes: autóctonos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Generación de danzas — La Generación de danzas es una forma de clasificar las danzas argentinas, es parte de la clasificación de danzas de Carlos Vega la misma es en función de sus características de acuerdo de las distintas formas de danzas que llegaron a América y… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Cinco canciones populares argentinas — are a set of five songs for voice and piano, comprising both entirely new compositions as well as new settings of existing melodies, written in 1943 by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera as his opus 10. The five songs are as follows: 1.… …   Wikipedia

  • Fiesta de las Colectividades europeo argentinas — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda La Fiesta de las colectividades europeo argentinas es un importante evento anual celebrado en Bariloche, Argentina. Desde 1989 se realiza ininterrumpidamente en el Gimnasio Pedro Estremador Contenido 1 La fiesta 1.1… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Historia de la música folclórica de Argentina — Escenario Atahualpa Yupanqui, del tradicional Festival de Cosquín de música folclórica de Argentina …   Wikipedia Español

  • Chacarera — La chacarera es una danza nacida en Argentina. Esta danza se baila al natural y espontáneamente solo en ciertas zonas de Argentina, especialmente en el noroeste de Argentina (zona donde surgió la chacarera),[1] y en la zona sur de Bolivia que… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alberto Ginastera — Alberto Evaristo Ginastera Nacimiento 11 de abril de 1916 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Carlos Vega — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Carlos Vega Nacimi …   Wikipedia Español

  • Felipe Boero — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda FELIPE SANTIAGO BOERO Nacimiento 1 de enero de 1884 …   Wikipedia Español

  • No Boundaries (album) — Infobox Album Name = No Boundaries Type = studio Artist = The 5 Browns Released = April 4th, 2006 Recorded = High Resolution 24 bit 88.2 kHz technology Genre = Classical Length = 61:32 Label = RCA Producer = Jay David Saks, Joel Diamond Most… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”