JAVS Spring 2001

44

VOL. 17 No.1

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY

There are two distinct dances incorporated in the work. The first one is Gracieux, "gracious," appearing first in mm. 7-14. The Gracieux is a slow dance, with much of the motion being step wise, again alluding to the folk element. This dance is related to the Brau, a spinning house dance performed by girls. In Bela Bartok's Rumanian Folk Music, VL 1, the dance appears twice in the form incorporated by Enescu. 9 Here, a violin and a flute play the two examples of this dance, with the violin example closer to the Enescu interpretation. The rhythm, rather than the tempo, characterizes this dance.

Example 5. The Brau rhythm found in example #19 in the Bartok catalogue.

The examples found in the Bartok catalogue indicate a much faster tempo for the dance than is utilized in the Concertstiick. Enescu's Gracieux, written in 3/2 with anacrusis in the preceding bar, rhythmically consists of a dotted quarter note tied to an eighth note, three times, then followed by four eighth notes, the first two slurred, another dotted quarter note tied to an eighth note and finally four more eighth notes, slurred as previously indicated.

Example 6. Enescu, Concertstiick, measures 7-9

Un peu hesitant ~ -P-· .;. t

C.l. f1 t- ,_ t

v. 3 ,...-~ • ~ ;-:-----,_3

v f:·

;: i_·

it;~

===--

====-- p Un peu hesitant I~ I pp ~.J~~ _..,

mp Gracieux

m.f>~ . r--r-;

I 1\ ..,

.

R... ...

~ pp ~~

I~ m .

::::=-

r r ~ r ~

:

r

r

I

~>

*

Later in the work, there is a faster version of this dance; see mm. 45-50, 81-83, 162-167, and 200-203. This version is not an exact rendition of the slower version, but it contains fragments of the rhythmic elements inherent to the Brau. The second dance type, which appears throughout the work and is often marked bien mar que, is related to the Batuta, which is a dance performed exclusively by men. This dance is found in the regions of Mures, Bihor, and Torontal. It is a complicated dance for young men in which the last move of the dance results in the young man kicking the room's ceiling. 10 This dance is rhythmically characterized by the use of two eighth notes followed by a quarter note, with the accentuation being on the quarter note.