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Aram Khatchaturian (1903-1978) Spartacus and Gayaneh.
*Click to activate the English subtitles for the presentation* (00:00-02:50)
00:00 Sabre Dance (Suite from Gayaneh)
One of the celebratory dances in the ballet’s last act. According to some sources it was separately composed, almost as a joke, but the saxophone melody in the central section relates to an earlier number in the main score.
Whatever its origin, it made Khachaturian’s name world-famous, and became perennially popular in a variety of orchestrations, sharing with the Ritual Fire Dance of Manuel de Falla the distinction of all kinds of likely and unlikely transcriptions.
*Spartacus* : Suite from the Ballet
02:20 Variation of Aegina – Final Bacchanalian Scene
At a feast and orgy in the home of Crassus, the Roman commander, the beautiful and ambitious Aegina, eager to advance her favour with Crassus, dances a flamboyant solo (a quick waltz tempo). Its theme is transformed into the start of a Bacchanalian revel in which all the guests take part.
05:42 Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia
The ballet’s principal ‘love duet’ between Spartacus and his wife, after they have been separated as slaves and reunited in rebellion. The romantically eloquent music, expressive of tenderness and passion, has achieved widespread independent popularity, not least in Britain as the title music for a 1970s television serial (The Onedin Line).
16:06 Scene and Dance
Originally composed for the confrontation between Spartacus and a fellow-slave, who are compelled to fight to the death as gladiators for the entertainment of the Romans.
20:27 Dance of the Gaditanian Maidens / The Victory of Spartacus
Crassus is being entertained by dancers. Spartacus, having killed his friend, determines on rebellion against the Roman tyrants. He incites the other gladiators and slaves to support him, and the rebels attack Crassus in his home.
*Gayaneh* : Suite from the Ballet
*Click to activate the English subtitles for the presentation* (27:01-28:28)
27:01 Gopak
A national folk dance like the Lezghinka (see below), the Gopak is from the Ukraine, where it was originally a dance for men only. A feature of several operas by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and others, it is here an ensemble dance with a whirling introduction, a steady duple-time rhythm under brass and woodwind, and the opening music returning at almost double-speed to an accelerated finish.
30:02 Ayesha’s Dance
Ayesha’s Dance. Ayesha is a Kurdish girl who loves Gayaneh’s brother, Armen, but who is herself loved by a man of her own race. Her emotional predicament is reflected in the sensuous, throbbing music of her dance, with its sense of resignation in the melody.
32:53 Dance of the Rose-Maidens
An almost ceremonious, rhythmically accented number, with a touch of syncopation in the central section. It is one of the scene-setting dances for the final festivities, and has attractively varied shades of instrumental colour.
35:15 Mountaineers’ Dance
Strong and emphatic, the music suggesting vivid leaps and turns, with a prominent passage in 7/8 time near the end.
37:13 Lubally
After an introductory theme from the oboe, a haunting flute tune is a variant of the theme of Ayesha’s dance, with a seductive Armenian folk element. It builds to an impassioned climax more suggestive of nocturnal desire than a cradle-song, and dies away in lingering sweetness.
43:37 Dance of the Young Kurds
Neighbouring people introduced with an ensemble dance in typical folk-style, the music mainly in a resolute G minor with a melody moving within narrow limits, first played on oboes and clarinets. The rhythm is regular and propulsive at a moderate tempo. After a contrasting central section, the dance gathers force and additional colour from richer orchestration and offbeat accents.
46:26 Armen’s Variation
A solo dance for Gayaneh’s younger brother to suggest his eager, assertive spirit. Unusually for a male solo it is in triple time, with a chromatic character in its harmonic colouring, a calmer central section and an abrupt finish.
28:28 Lezghinka
The name derives from the Lezghys, a Muslim people whose home is on the Caspian Sea. The dance is in a fast 6/8 time, sometimes with men alone, sometimes with couples, in which the woman’s grace provokes the male to increasingly virile display, dancing on the toes of his boots and on his knees as he circles the woman. Khachaturian builds the dance into an exciting climax to the ballet’s finale.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov
Recorded in 1986
Find CMRR’s recordings on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3016eVr
Aram Khatchaturian PLAYLIST (reference recordings): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3UZpQL9LIxPbzCBMgcyfim4qU40RckSk