This chapter discusses in detail the transcription process of three of the six dances. First, the historical context is described. Then, the intentions for choosing this piece are explained. Different aspects of the composition (structure, orchestration, historical relevance, instrumentation, etc.) are described which play a role in shaping the transcription. Then, in different categories examples of the obstacles and dilemma’s that occurred during the process are presented as well as a recording of the final version of the transcriptions. These examples are illustrated with audio fragments and extracts from the score.
Transcription of Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm by Béla Bartók being authentic to?
The idioms of our instruments
I want to create a transcription that shows a wide range of the qualities of our instruments. I also want to show the different ways in which our instruments can sound together. Often in existing pieces for our instruments there is a strict separation between melody and accompaniment. This is a very natural and effective orchestration, but it is not the only one. It shows only one aspect of how the violin and the guitar can sound together. There are some compositions (for example Sonatina Bulgarica by Atanas Ourkouzounov) in which the instruments blend exceptionally well when the separation between melody and accompaniment is less strict.1 In this case, the art of chamber music is often more demanding and more complex, but therefore it is more interesting. For example, it can be very effective when there are two simultaneous melodies, or when both instruments form one rhythmic section. Sometimes it even works surprisingly well when the guitar has the melody and the violin the accompaniment. The sonic possibilities of the combination of our two instruments are much richer when the division of the music between the instruments is not all the time the same, like melody and accompaniment. The ultimate goal of the transcription is to try to show the structure of the music with our instruments in a way that they sound like one instrument, rather than two different instruments.
The style of the music
I also want to be as authentic as possible to the style of the composer and the piece. This is not to be confused with being authentic to the original instrumentation. As already mentioned in a conversation with Raaf Hekkema, he writes about the abstract idea of the composer, with which the seed of the composition is planted, so to speak. This idea is later adapted to the instrument available or chosen. This composition is part of Bartók's Mikrokosmos, a collection of piano pieces written for pedagogical purposes. However, the pedagogical aspect of this work is the Bulgarian rhythm, not the technical difficulties of the piano. Bartók himself often played these compositions in his own concerts all over the world. So, we can say that the abstract idea has indeed been transposed for the instrument at hand. We have chosen to be authentic to the abstract idea, especially to the Bulgarian rhythm.
Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm by Béla Bartók – Historical Context and importance
Vikárius László, head of the Bartók Archives, wrote the essay Bartók's Bulgarian Dances and the Order of Things2. The first sentence of the essay describes Bartók as not only a collector of folk music, but also of as all kinds of objects like insects, pictures, postcards, dictionaries, and grammar books in different languages. Collecting inevitably involves ordering. This ‘ordering’ is described by Vikárius as one of the most central common elements in Bartók’s professional activities as a pianist, folklorist and composer. He was repeatedly challenged by the question of ordering in his work as ethnomusicologist. Vikárius suggests that he might even be obsessive with this ‘ordering’ in all the music and material he collected. This is notably seen in Bartók's Mikrokosmos (literally meaning ‘micro-cosmos’), a collection of 6 volumes of piano pieces composed between 1926 and 1939, intended for the musical instruction of Bartók’s son. Regarding Vikárius it represents the most complex problem of ordering, with its 153 individual pieces and 33 exercises. The Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm is the very last piece of the Mikrokosmos and the only self-contained set of music of the complete collection. The compositions gradually increase in difficulty and the last two volumes are intended as fully-fledged professional concert pieces. The six dances are based on a series of irregular time signatures common in Bulgarian folk music, referred to as ‘Bulgarian rhythm’ by Bartók. The dances are distinguished from each other in that each has a different rhythmic pattern. However, they are all energetic and up-tempo. In each dance, there is a chromatic line that develops. However, the melodies themselves are completely original compositions by Bartók himself. This makes them all belong together, yet different. In the essay Vikárius explains that in Bartók’s ‘Bulgarian rhythm’ the fast metrical unit within the bar, the eight note, is almost constantly present. This not the case in the ‘lame’ rhythm of the folkloristic music. Another basic feature in Bartók’s Bulgarian Rhythm pieces is that the middle section of each movement is an unexpected, melodious almost melancholic passage which one can call the only thematic section of the piece. He writes that in Bartók’s recording of the pieces there is a differentiation in the kinds of touch between melodic, accompanying and ornamental notes. Bartók frequently played these dances at the end of his concerts. Vikárius further underlines the importance of the work by referring to two exercises in volume four where Bartók already introduces the 'Bulgarian Rhythm'. A few months after Bartók’s first performance of this work in 1938, he gave a lecture intended for music educators on the so-called 'Bulgarian Rhythm'. Vikárius quotes Bartók: ‘Pupils studying music were to grow familiar with Bulgarian rhythms in childhood, it would not happen that qualified orchestral players would gape at much simpler rhythmic formulas than these, as if one had placed - at the very least - Arabic writing before them’3 The six dances are dedicated to Miss Harriet Cohen. Regarding Vikárius, little is known about the relation between the British pianist and the composer. There are several theories as to why Bartók dedicated this work to her. One such theory is her devotion to contemporary music and her belief in contemporary composers. Apart from personal sympathy and connection with Cohen, the fact that this was his first major publication with the British publishing house Boosey and Hawkes perhaps plays into it. Finally, Vikárius suggests a hidden connotation about the fact that she not only has a British name, but also a Jewish name. At that time, she even had Zionist connections. He believes that Bartók could not have overlooked that this is in 1939 a politically relevant choice.
Another interesting topic is the idea of hybridity that Bartók raised very cleary with the Six Dances. Vikárius writes: “In an interview in 1940 he spoke of ‘Hungarian (melodies) grafted onto Bulgarian Rhythm’. In his 1942 article Race Purity in Music Bartok indorsed the idea of ‘racial’ impurity in music with emphatic political relevance. Therefore one might argue that, the Bulgarian series had been intented to carry a similar message.” Further-on he writes about the dedication to Miss Hariet Cohen: “So the connection of her Jewish name with the only self-contained series within the Mikrokosmos that emphasized, however intricately or perhaps even arcanely, the freedom to hybridity in art music. Such a gesture would not only harmonize with his credo formulated in "Race Purity in Music" but also with his former occasional strategy of letting a politically sensitive dedication be printed in seemingly innocent musical scores.” 4
All the information around this piece mentioned above prove the importance of this work. First, the work's placement as the very last of the entire Mikrokosmos. Given that Bartók is described as an obsessive collector and orderer, this is no coincidence. Also, the secret meaning of the dedication to Miss Harriet Cohen, the pedagogical relevance and the frequent performances of the piece by Bartók himself as the last one of his concerts, prove that this work was meaningful for him.
A piece that is often transcribed for our instruments is Bartók's Six Romanian Folk Dances. It also contains six dances, but in symmetrical rhythm and with Romanian folk melodies. As it is one of Bartók's most famous pieces and there are already good transcriptions, I found it less interesting to choose this piece. The Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm are less known but given their historical context, deserve to be heard more in the contemporary classical music scene. First of all, the pedagogical purposes of this piece, which Bartók clearly considered very important, are even strengthened in the transcription. The Bulgarian rhythm, which Bartók always presents in a fast metric unit, is more difficult to play regularly and tightly with two alternating instruments than with both hands alternating on the piano. This transcription can be used as a rhythmic exercise for violin-guitar duos, a skill that was extremely important to Bartók. In addition, the idea of hybridity in this work is interesting. Bringing this piece into our contemporary time and environment adds another layer of hybridity, namely the layer of our instruments with their own idiomatic characteristics. Bartók's aim was to spread the local folk music of Eastern Europe throughout the world in his contemporary compositions. This transcription sheds new light on this 'lesser known' work.
Idiomacy of the Six Dances in Bulgarian Rythm by Béla Bartók for violin and guitar?
When I first heard the six dances, I naturally began to imagine possible orchestrations of the piano part and different sound colours. The first thing that caught my attention was the rhythmic interplay between the voices. This playful, rhythmic alternation of equally important voices fits well with my search for pieces in which the chamber music aspect is essential. Alongside these rhythmic passages, there are parts where there is a clear separation between melody and accompaniment. As already mentioned, this structure is usually written for our instruments and is very effective. Apart from the structure of these short pieces, the limited register that Bartók uses is also very interesting for transcription. As the guitar and violin do not have a large register, there are not too many major adjustments to be made in terms of register. The entire set is also not very densely written. There are mostly two voices with chords of two or three notes, no more. As the violin and guitar cannot produce as many notes as a piano, this is still manageable.