Polovetsian Dances

The Polovetsian Dances (or Polovtsian Dances) are perhaps the best known selections from Alexander Borodin's opera "Prince Igor". They are often played as a stand-alone concert piece as one of the best known works in the classical repertoire.Fact|date=July 2007 In the opera the dances are performed with chorus, but concert performances often omit the choral parts. The dances do not include the "Polovetsian March" which opens Act III (No. 18), but the overture, dances, and march from the opera have been performed together to form a suite from "Prince Igor". In the opera "Prince Igor" the dances occur in Act II (in the original edition).

The dances

The first dance, which uses no chorus and is sometimes omitted in concerts, is No. 8, entitled "Dance of the Polovetsian Maidens" ["Пляска половецких девушек"] : Presto, 6/8, F Major; it is placed directly after the "Chorus of the Polovetsian Maidens" which opens the act and is followed by "Konchakovna's Cavatina". The dances proper appear at the end of the Act as an uninterrupted single number in several contrasting sections listed as follows (basic themes are indicated with letters in brackets and notated in the accompanying illustration
*No. 17, "Polovetsian Dance " [sic] " with Chorus" ["Половецкая пляска с хором"]
** [a] Introduction: Andantino, 4/4, A Major
** [b] Gliding Dance of the Maidens [Пляска девушек плавная] : Andantino, 4/4, A Major
** [c + a] Wild Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин дикая] : Allegro vivo, 4/4, F Major
** [d] General Dance [Общая пляска] : Allegro, 3/4, D Major
** [e] Dance of the Boys [Пляска мальчиков] and 2nd Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин] : Presto, 6/8, D Minor
** [b’ + e’] Gliding Dance of the Maidens (reprise, soon combined with the faster dancing of the boys): Moderato alla breve, 2/2
** [e’’] Dance of the Boys and 2nd Dance of the Men (reprise): Presto, 6/8, D Minor
** [c’ + a’’] General Dance: Allegro con spirito, 4/4, A Major

As an orchestral showpiece by an important nineteenth-century Russian composer, this work makes a spectacular impression. Notable instrumental solos include the clarinet (in No. 8 and the Men's Dance [c] ) and the oboe and English horn (in the Women's Dance [b] ).

Translation

The text of the first stanza of this particular section in the opera is given below.

References in popular culture

Most of the themes from No. 17 were incorporated into the 1953 musical "Kismet", best known of which is the women's dance ("Gliding Dance of the Maidens"), adapted for the song "Stranger in Paradise". Thirteen years earlier, in 1940, Artie Shaw recorded "My Fantasy" (credited to composers Whiteman-Meskitt-Edwards) which has a tune virtually identical to this dance.

More recent adaptations of the music include the following:

*British string quartet bond recorded an instrumental version of the women's dance in their album "Shine", renamed "Strange Paradise" to fit with "Kismet"'s use of the melody.
*Different adaptations of No. 17 "Gliding Dance of the Maidens" have been featured as background music in several TV series, including "Princess Tutu", "Noir", and "Kare Kano", while it is given a special significance in "RahXephon". The track "The Garden of Everything" on the top 10 Maaya Sakamoto single "Tune the Rainbow" uses it as a sub-melody.

References

*Borodin, A. "Le Prince Igor". Partition pour chant et piano. Edition M.P. Belaieff. "(Russian, French, and German text.)"