Romanian Folk Dances
Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, BB 68 is a suite of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB 76.
It is based on seven Romanian tunes from Transylvania, originally played on fiddle or shepherd's flute. The original name for the piece was titled Romanian Folk Dances from Hungary but was later changed by Bartók when Romania occupied and finally annexed Transylvania between 1918–1920. It is nowadays available in the 1971 edition which is written with key signatures although Bartók rarely ever wrote key signatures.
Structure
This set of dances consists of six movements and, according to the composer, it should take four minutes and three seconds to perform, but most professional pianists take up to five minutes. The list of the movements is as follows. The original Hungarian title will be in the first place, the most commonly known title in Romanian will be in the second place and the translation into English will be in parentheses:The melody of the first movement, according to Bartók, came from the Mezőszabad village that was part of Mezőcsávás commune which was located in the Maros-Torda administrative county within Transylvania, and he first heard it when two gypsy violinists were playing it. The second movement is a typical dance from Romania called Brâul, for which traditionally a sash or a waistband was used. This melody came from Egres, in the Banat region. The third dance comes also from Egres, but its theme is much darker and its melody recreates Middle Eastern instruments, such as the flute. The fourth dance came from Bucsony, Alsó-Fehér County. The fifth dance is an old Romanian dance similar to the Polka and comes from Belényes, near the border between Hungary and Romania. The sixth and last dance is formed by two different melodies: the first one comes from Belényes and the second one comes from the then named Nyagra village within the Palotailva commune. Both on the orchestral version and on the original piano version, the final two dances are performed attacca—without a break between movements.
Analysis
All of the movements are composed according to the rules of the musical modes, which state that all melodies are to be written according to a specific order of tones and semitones.| Movement | Tempo | Time to perform | Key | Form | Mode |
| Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă | Allegro moderato, = 80 | 57 seconds | A minor | Binary | Dorian and Aeolian on key centre A |
| Brâul | Allegro, = 144 | 25 seconds | D minor | Binary | Dorian centered on D |
| Topogó / Pe loc | Andante, = 112 | 45 seconds | B minor | Binary | Aeolian and Arabic influence on key centre B or Gypsy scale without leading-tone |
| Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana | Moderato, = 100 | 35 seconds | A major | Binary with 2 tunes | Mixolydian and Arabic influence on key centre A |
| Román polka / Poarga Românească | Allegro, = 152 | 31 seconds | D major | Binary with 2 tunes | Lydian on key centre D |
| Aprózó / Mărunțel | Allegro, = 152 | 13 and 36 seconds | D Major, modulates to A major | 3 tunes and coda | Key Centre A; first part begins with Lydian, but is in Mixolydian; second part is in Dorian |
Other arrangements
Aside from the version Bartók wrote for a small orchestral ensemble, some of Bartók's friends wrote adaptations or transcriptions of this piece for several different ensembles. The following list shows some of the most published of them:- Arthur Willner's version for string orchestra. It is a mere transcription with no modification on the original score other than appropriately orchestrating the piece for a string orchestra with violin I, violin II, viola, cello and double bass.
- Zoltán Székely's version for violin and piano. This is not just a transcription, but also an arrangement and adaptation of the piece for these two instruments, especially from the point of view of the violinist. Therefore, some of the slight adjustments Székely made on the original score were to transpose some of the songs: the second movement was transposed from D minor to F minor, the third from B minor to D minor and the fourth from A major to C major. He also repeated some sections, added bars and used several techniques from the violin such as artificial harmonics, double stops, and Sautillé.
- Further Gerhard Präsent's version for string quartet.
Notable recordings
| Piano Solo | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| András Schiff | Denon Records / Brilliant Classics | 1980 | CD |
| Jenő Jandó | Naxos Records | 2005 | CD |
Notable recordings of the arrangement by Zoltán Székely include:
| Violin | Piano | Record Company | Year of Recording | Format |
| Joseph Szigeti | Béla Bartók | EMI Classics | 1930 | CD |