Allegro barbaro, BB 63 (Sz. 49), composed in 1911, is one of Béla Bartók's most famous and frequently performed solo piano pieces. The composition is typical of Bartók's style, utilizing folk elements. The work combines Hungarian and Romanian scales; Hungarian peasant music is based on the pentatonic scale, while Romanian music is largely chromatic. The title is a jab at Bartók's critics who called him a 'barbarian'.[1]
Allegro barbaro was composed in 1911, but the first performance didn't occur until 1921.[2] According to Maurice Hinson, editor, Bartók premiered the piece in February 1913 in Kecskemet, Hungary. Like many of Bartók's compositions, there are several different editions of Allegro barbaro. The piece was performed in private by Bartók many times by memory before he even started to notate the music. In many early printed versions of the composition, the tempo markings were indicated at a much slower speed.[3] These indications would confuse musicians because the recordings of Bartók performing his own composition was much faster than indicated. Also, many times certain accents and dynamics would be performed by the composer, but would not make it to paper because each performance wasn't the same.[2] The publications of the composition that took place in 1918 in Vienna has become to standard and final edition.[2]Allegro barbaro is a frequent choice of students to orchestrate, in particular for their college studies.[4]
Analysis
The opening melody of Allegro barbaro is largely pentatonic (the first 22 notes of the melody use a cell that consists only of a whole tone and a minor third, the building block of the pentatonic scale).[5] Indeed, the opening melody uses a Phrygian mode subset.[5] Like many of Bartók's compositions, this piece circles around a tonal pitch. This pitch almost always stays constant and the major, minor, or modal relations around it changes.[5]Allegro barbaro is a short, dance-like composition, that at first sounds like it's free composed. However, one can begin to find traditional structure to the piece by looking at the harmony. Allegro barbaro is in ternary form, which means that there are two distinct themes, but one is presented twice. A typical diagram looks like this: A–B–A.[5] The beginning of the composition centers on F♯, the second thematic area centers on F, and the return of theme 1 is again centered on F♯. Allegro barbaro melodic material is mostly based on the pentatonic scale, while the underlying harmonies are chromatic. Many of the cadence points end in a major or minor fashion, but arrived by chromatic motion.
To keep the edge of freedom and wild force, Bartók frequently breaks the flow of Allegro barbaro in a peremptory way to scare us a little with a potential for violence. The irregular-seeming cadences ending the major phrases and sections catch you by surprise or make you wait a bit for each return to the attack. Many analyses of this composition include the overall form and harmonies, but have not been able to find a pattern in how the cadences are formed. The dynamics are jagged and shocking as well through the entire piece. For example, there are accent marks and the sff (which means "subito fortissimo"/“suddenly very loud”) above these lines of the score.
Discography
Allegro barbaro has been recorded on hundreds of albums. Some of the most famous recordings include:
^Zieliński, Tadeusz A. Bartók. Zürich, Freiburg im Breisgau: Atlantis Verlag. p. 158.
^ abcLaki, Peter; Darwin Scott (2005). "Various Bartok Editions". Music Index. 61 (4): 1088–1091.
^Clifton, Kevin (2000). "Bartoks Ironic Response to His Critics". International Journal of Musicology. 9: 165–175.
^László Vikárius (October 2007). "Bartók, Kodály and Salome – The Origins of a Bartókian 'Hallmark'". Hungarian Quarterly. 48 (187): 124–137 – via Central and Eastern European Online Library.
^ abcdLendvai, Erno (1991). An Analysis of His Music. Pro Am Music Resources. ISBN978-0-912483-33-7.
Further reading
Jaroslav Smolka: Malá encyklopedie hudby. Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1983.
allegro, barbaro, bartók, allegro, barbaro, composed, 1911, béla, bartók, most, famous, frequently, performed, solo, piano, pieces, composition, typical, bartók, style, utilizing, folk, elements, work, combines, hungarian, romanian, scales, hungarian, peasant,. Allegro barbaro BB 63 Sz 49 composed in 1911 is one of Bela Bartok s most famous and frequently performed solo piano pieces The composition is typical of Bartok s style utilizing folk elements The work combines Hungarian and Romanian scales Hungarian peasant music is based on the pentatonic scale while Romanian music is largely chromatic The title is a jab at Bartok s critics who called him a barbarian 1 Contents 1 History of the composition 2 Analysis 3 Discography 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory of the composition Edit Allegro barbaro was composed in 1911 but the first performance didn t occur until 1921 2 According to Maurice Hinson editor Bartok premiered the piece in February 1913 in Kecskemet Hungary Like many of Bartok s compositions there are several different editions of Allegro barbaro The piece was performed in private by Bartok many times by memory before he even started to notate the music In many early printed versions of the composition the tempo markings were indicated at a much slower speed 3 These indications would confuse musicians because the recordings of Bartok performing his own composition was much faster than indicated Also many times certain accents and dynamics would be performed by the composer but would not make it to paper because each performance wasn t the same 2 The publications of the composition that took place in 1918 in Vienna has become to standard and final edition 2 Allegro barbaro is a frequent choice of students to orchestrate in particular for their college studies 4 Analysis EditThe opening melody of Allegro barbaro is largely pentatonic the first 22 notes of the melody use a cell that consists only of a whole tone and a minor third the building block of the pentatonic scale 5 Indeed the opening melody uses a Phrygian mode subset 5 Like many of Bartok s compositions this piece circles around a tonal pitch This pitch almost always stays constant and the major minor or modal relations around it changes 5 Allegro barbaro is a short dance like composition that at first sounds like it s free composed However one can begin to find traditional structure to the piece by looking at the harmony Allegro barbaro is in ternary form which means that there are two distinct themes but one is presented twice A typical diagram looks like this A B A 5 The beginning of the composition centers on F the second thematic area centers on F and the return of theme 1 is again centered on F Allegro barbaro melodic material is mostly based on the pentatonic scale while the underlying harmonies are chromatic Many of the cadence points end in a major or minor fashion but arrived by chromatic motion To keep the edge of freedom and wild force Bartok frequently breaks the flow of Allegro barbaro in a peremptory way to scare us a little with a potential for violence The irregular seeming cadences ending the major phrases and sections catch you by surprise or make you wait a bit for each return to the attack Many analyses of this composition include the overall form and harmonies but have not been able to find a pattern in how the cadences are formed The dynamics are jagged and shocking as well through the entire piece For example there are accent marks and the sff which means subito fortissimo suddenly very loud above these lines of the score Discography EditAllegro barbaro has been recorded on hundreds of albums Some of the most famous recordings include Out of Doors performed by pianist Jeno Jando Bela Bartok Piano Works performed by Andreas Bach Bela Bartok Baroque Transcriptions performed by Gyorgy SandorMany students and professionals perform this composition in recitals and the list of recordings is quite long Progressive rock band Emerson Lake amp Palmer adapted the piece as The Barbarian featured on their debut album References Edit Zielinski Tadeusz A Bartok Zurich Freiburg im Breisgau Atlantis Verlag p 158 a b c Laki Peter Darwin Scott 2005 Various Bartok Editions Music Index 61 4 1088 1091 Clifton Kevin 2000 Bartoks Ironic Response to His Critics International Journal of Musicology 9 165 175 Laszlo Vikarius October 2007 Bartok Kodaly and Salome The Origins of a Bartokian Hallmark Hungarian Quarterly 48 187 124 137 via Central and Eastern European Online Library a b c d Lendvai Erno 1991 An Analysis of His Music Pro Am Music Resources ISBN 978 0 912483 33 7 Further reading EditJaroslav Smolka Mala encyklopedie hudby Prague Editio Supraphon 1983 External links EditAllegro barbaro Sz 49 Bartok Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Allegro barbaro Bartok amp oldid 1143560435, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
