Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Piano 101: 5. Danza de la Moza Donosa

The second of Ginastera's Argentinian Dances is the Dance of the Graceful Maiden. And I LOVE this piece... the close chromaticism in the melody... the wide open intervals in the harmony.

There isn't a lot of rhythmic action, but a classic accent figure from Spanish music appears a couple of times. The 6/8 bars are mostly accented 1-2-3-1-2-3 but Ginastera occasionally throws in a bar accented 1-2-1-2-1-2. The most obvious examples are at 1:29 and 2:01. You can hear the effect by reciting this little poem:

Muffin with Marmelade
Muffin with Marmelade
Muffin with Marmelade
Muffin Muffin Muffin

This figure also appears all over the place in Albéniz' El Puerto and in the other two Argentinian Dances.

Track 5: Danza de la Moza Donosa (Alberto Ginastera)

3 comments:

  1. Kenneth,
    This piece is so much more pleasing to me than the first Ginastera dance you recorded on Track 4. In fact, I listened to this Dance of the Graceful Maiden a second time to try to understand your comments about rhythmic action.

    I would sure like to know more about music so that I might really appreciate your artistry. All I can say is that I like the pieces you choose to play and I love the way you play them. Thank you!

    Louise

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  2. Hi Kenneth,

    It is so wonderful to hear you playing again. I love Ginastera dances. I am looking forward to hearing the third.

    Love, Mom

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  3. You're on a roll, Kenneth! I LOVE these dances. Carry on ...

    Love,

    Dad

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