Polonaise

For other uses, see Polonaise (disambiguation).
Typical rhythm of a Polonaise
Polonaise rhythm[1]

The polonaise (/pɒləˈneɪz/, French: [pɔlɔnɛz]; Polish: polonez) is a dance of Polish origin,[2] in 3
4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."

The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin.

Polonaise is a widespread dance in carnival parties. Polonaise is always a first dance at a studniówka ("hundred-days"), the Polish equivalent of the senior prom that occurs approximately 100 days before exams.

Influence of Polonaise in music

The notation alla polacca (Italian: polacca means "polonaise") on a musical score indicates that the piece should be played with the rhythm and character of a polonaise. For example, the third movement of Beethoven's Triple Concerto op. 56, marked "Rondo alla polacca," and the finale of Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" both feature this notation. In his book Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style, Leonard G. Ratner cites the fourth movement from Beethoven's Serenade in D major, Op. 8, marked "Allegretto alla Polacca," as a representative example of the polonaise dance topic (Ratner 1980, pp. 12-13).

Frédéric Chopin's polonaises are generally the best known of all polonaises in classical music. Other composers who wrote polonaises or pieces in polonaise rhythm include Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michał Kleofas Ogiński, Maria Agata Szymanowska, Franz Schubert, Vincenzo Bellini, Louis Spohr, Carl Maria von Weber, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Moritz Moszkowski, Friedrich Baumfelder, Ferdinando Carulli, Mauro Giuliani, Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Alexander Scriabin.

Another more recent prolific polonaise composer was the American Edward Alexander MacDowell.

John Philip Sousa wrote the Presidential Polonaise, intended to keep visitors moving briskly through the White House receiving line. Sousa wrote it in 1886 at the request of President Chester A. Arthur who died before it was performed.[3]

National dance

Polonaise is a Polish dance and is one of the five historic national dances of Poland.[4] The others are the Mazurka (Mazur), Kujawiak, Krakowiak and Oberek, last three being old folk dances.[5] Polonaise originated as a peasant dance known under various names – chodzony ("pacer"), chmielowy ("hops"), pieszy ("walker") or wielki ("great"), recorded as early as the 15th century. In later centuries it gained popularity among the nobility and townspeople.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Blatter, Alfred (2007). Revisiting music theory: a guide to the practice, p.28. ISBN 0-415-97440-2.
  2. ↑ Don Michael Randel. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. 2003. p. 668.
  3. ↑ Sousa: Marching Along, p.85 Integrity Press, 1994
  4. ↑ Polish Folk Music and Chopin's Muzurkas
  5. ↑ OBEREK (OBERTAS)
  6. ↑ Roderyk Lange. Tradycyjny taniec ludowy w Polsce i jego przeobrażenia w czasie i przestrzeni. PUNO. 1978. p. 40.
  7. ↑ Selma Jeanne Cohen. International encyclopedia of dance: a project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 223.
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