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Sabre Dance

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This article is about the musical piece. For the aeronautical phenomenon in high-speed aircraft, see Sabre dance (aviation).
"Sabre Dance"
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Aram Khachaturian circa 1960

The "Sabre Dance" (Armenian: Սուսերով պար Suserov par) is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane, written by Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian completed in 1942.

Overview

It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk song from Gyumri.[1][2] Due to its exceptionally exciting rhythm, the "Sabre Dance" established a place for itself in common concert practice, leading also to various adaptations in popular music. Its recognizable ostinato and popular melodies have made it a popular concert band piece.

The orchestral version is written in the key of G major. It starts out with a recognizable motif ostinato with the timpani and strings that can be heard throughout much of the piece. The upper woodwinds and keyboard percussion take an exciting dance melody, later accompanied by the low brass. Then the strings come in with a folk song melody. The first melody is then briefly recapitulated. Descending chromatic eighth notes bring the piece down to straight eighth notes on the note G in the low strings. The piece ends on ascending quarter notes in a F♯ pentatonic scale (against the G bass) to an open G octave.

Notable performers

Notable covers

Recorded

Live

The "Sabre Dance" has been used in numerous films, animated films, TV series, video games and commercials over the years.[6] Some notable TV shows that have used it include The Jack Benny Program (1961), A Piano in the House from The Twilight Zone (1962), The Onedin Line (1971 and 1972), The Benny Hill Show (1985), The Simpsons (1991–2011), Two and a Half Men (2004), What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2004), "Peterotica" episode of Family Guy (2006), SpongeBob SquarePants (2007), The Big Bang Theory (2009).[7] and Team Fortress 2(2007)

The piece's popular familiarity has been enhanced by its traditional use as accompaniment by travelling circuses and on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show when novelty acts such as plate spinners appeared.[8]

News program Teleprensa from El Salvador used a modern version of the song as intro for their newscasts in the 1980s during the Salvadoran Civil War.

The "Sabre Dance" is used in Road Runner (1985) from Atari Games and Aero the Acro-Bat (1993) video game in each of one of the game's soundtracks. It is also featured in the Classical Music radio station in Sleeping Dogs.

The National Hockey League team Buffalo Sabres uses the piece as a theme song.[9]

Films

Films in which the "Sabre Dance" was used include:[6]

  • The Barkleys of Broadway (US, 1949) – pianist Oscar Levant plays a piano transcription of the piece
  • One, Two, Three (US, 1961) – the piece reinforces James Cagney's energetic performance in the final act of the film as he plays a troubled executive making snap decisions to save his career.
  • The System (UK, 1964)
  • Amarcord (Italy, 1973)
  • Nu, pogodi! 6th episode "Countryside" (Soviet Union, 1973) – a portion was used in the train scene when the Wolf is trying to catch the Hare
  • Jumpin' Jack Flash (US, 1986)
  • Radioland Murders (US, 1994)
  • The Hudsucker Proxy (US/UK, 1994) – in a scene in which a newly-invented hula hoop is picked up and used by a young boy for the first time. The piece was arranged and integrated into the wider score by Carter Burwell, who also made use of Khachaturian's other well-known piece, the Adagio from Spartacus, as the movie's main theme.[10]
  • Don't Drink the Water (US, 1994)
  • I Married a Strange Person! (US, 1997)
  • Vegas Vacation (US, 1997)
  • A Simple Wish (US, 1997)
  • 'Blues Brothers 2000 (US, 1998) – when the main heroes encounter Russians in the grave and run, "Sabre Dance" can be heard for several seconds.
  • Kung Fu Hustle (Hong Kong, 2004) – the Sabre Dance plays in the background as Sing (Stephen Chow) infiltrates a mental institution to spring an assassin known as the Beast
  • Scoop (US/UK, 2006)
  • Sicko (US, 2007)
  • Ghost Town (US, 2008) – when the character of Ricky Gervais Bertram Pincus runs from a horde of ghosts through tunnel in the park, a violin version of "Sabre Dance" could be heard, performed by a ghost musician in tunnel.
  • Witless Protection (US, 2008)
  • Le Concert (France, 2009)
  • Paper Birds (es) (Spain, 2010)

Charts

In 1948, two versions of the "Sabre Dance": one directed by Artur Rodziński and played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and another one directed by Efrem Kurtz and played by the New York Philharmonic peaked number one on Billboard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists.[11]

References

  1. ^ Randel, Don Michael (1996). The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-37299-9.
  2. ^ Studwell, William Emmett (1997). The Americana Song Reader. Haworth Press. ISBN 0-7890-0150-0.
  3. ^ "Liberace Plays the Saber Dance ..." EVTV1. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  4. ^ "Wolf Hoffmann". Dinosaur Rock Guitar. May 28, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  5. ^ "Bond Classified review". allmusic. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Aram Khachaturyan". IMDb. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  7. ^ "The Work Song Nanocluster". IMDb. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  8. ^ Tom Huizenga (June 5, 2003). "The 'Sabre Dance' Man". NPR Music. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  9. ^ "(article)". Amusement Business. Vol. 83, no. 1. Billboard Publications. 1971. Retrieved September 22, 2012. The Buffalo Sabres have a new old wrinkle. Miss Sandae Bafo, a smooth lass on the blades entertains between periods with her special rendition of Khachaturian's fiery Sabre Dance.
  10. ^ Eddie Robson (2003). Coen Brothers. London: Virgin Books. pp. 139–142. ISBN 1-57488-273-2.
  11. ^ "Retail Record Sales: Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists". Billboard. June 26, 1948. p. 27.
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