''English Dances'', Op. 27 and 33, are two sets of light music pieces, composed for orchestra by

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...

in 1950 and 1951.(Burton-Page 2001) Each set consists of four dances inspired by, although not based upon, country folk tunes and dances. Each movement is denoted by the tempo marking, as the individual movements are untitled.

Background

Bernard de Nevers, the head of the composer's then publisher Alfred Lengnick & Co. asked Arnold to write a suite of dances akin to

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

's ''

Slavonic Dances The ''Slavonic Dances'' ( cs, Slovanské tance) are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, t ...

''. This resulted in the first set. The set was premiered on 14 April 1951 by the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

conducted by Sir

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

. After the success of the first set, de Nevers asked for a second set, which the composer completed the following year. The second set was premiered on 5 August 1952 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

under Sir

Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

. The first movement of the second set, ''Allegro non troppo'', was used from 1969 to 2008 as the theme music for the long-running UK television programme ''

What the Papers Say ''What The Papers Say'' is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a scri ...

'', and was used again for the revived version of the programme on BBC Radio Four. Shades and passages of the third movement of the first set, ''Mesto'', are recognisable in the main title of

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009)allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with ...

's Oscar-winning music for

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

's 1965 film ''

Doctor Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

''. The two pieces are of similar length.

Movements

English Dances, Set I, Op. 27 I. ''Andantino''
II. ''Vivace''
III. ''Mesto''
IV. ''Allegro risoluto'' English Dances, Set II, Op. 33 I. ''Allegro non troppo''
II. ''Con brio''
III. ''Grazioso''
IV. ''Giubiloso - lento e maestoso''

Instrumentation

The instrumentation for set 1 is piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, tubular bells, tam tam, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, wood block), harp and strings. The instrumentation for set 2 is piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, tam tam, tambourine, tubular bells) celeste, harp and strings.

Solitaire

In 1956

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

created the one-act ballet ''

Solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

'' based on the two sets of ''English Dances''. MacMillan created two new pieces for the ballet, the "Sarabande and Polka". It was first performed at

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

London on 7 June 1956.

Ballet sequencing

1. Set II, No. 3
2. Set I, No. 1
3. Set I, No. 2
4. Set I, No. 3
5. Set I, No. 4
6. Sarabande
7. Polka
8. Set II, No. 2
9. Set II, No. 1
10. Set II, No. 4
11. Set II, No. 3 (reprise)

Arrangements

*1958 for piano duet by

Franz Reizenstein Franz Theodor Reizenstein (7 June 191115 October 1968) was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his teaching and performing career there. As a composer, he succ ...

*1965 for

Wind band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

by Maurice Johnstone *1984 for Brass band by Ray Farr

Selected commercial recordings

*1954

and the

latest CD release on

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

468 803-2 (The first recording) *1979

and the

Lyrita Lyrita is a British European classical music, classical music record label, specializing in the works of List of British classical composers, British composers. Lyrita began releasing LP album, LPs in October 1959 as Lyrita Recorded Edition f ...

LP and CD: SRCD.201

) (recorded by the composer) *1996

Andrew Penny Andrew Jonathan Penny MBE (born 4 December 1952, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English conductor. He has recorded a complete cycle of Malcolm Arnold's symphonies. From 1982 to 2022, he was Musical Director of the ...

conducting the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

8.553526 (''Sir Malcolm Arnold: Dances'')

References

Sources

*Burton-Page, Piers. 2001. "Arnold, Sir Malcolm (Henry)". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.

External links

English Dances (Set I) Malcolm Arnold homepage

English Dances (Set II) Malcolm Arnold homepage

Birmingham Royal Ballet's page on Solitaire production
{{Authority control Compositions by Malcolm Arnold 1950 compositions 1951 compositions Light music compositions Orchestral suites