Strauss I - Wiener Scene - Der große Galop

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see

Gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait pos ...

), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popular in Vienna, Berlin and London. In the same closed position familiar in the

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, the step combined a glissade with a

chassé The ''chassé'' (, French for 'to chase'; sometimes anglicized to chasse ) is a dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern. The word came fro ...

on alternate feet, ordinarily in a fast time. The galop was a forerunner of the

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The te ...

, which was introduced in Prague ballrooms in the 1830s and made fashionable in Paris when Raab, a dancing teacher of Prague, danced the polka at the Odéon Theatre in 1840. In Australian bush dance, the dance is often called galopede. An even livelier, faster version of the galop called the can-can developed in Paris around 1830. The galop was particularly popular as the final dance of the evening. The " Post Horn Galop", written by the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

virtuoso Herman Koenig, was first performed in London in 1844; it remains a signal that the dancing at a hunt ball or wedding reception is ending.

Examples

* Numerous galops were written by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

. *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

employed a "posthorn galop" as the second Allegro

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often re ...

of his '' Eighth Symphony'' in 1943. *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

composed the "Grazer Galopp". He also composed the fourth movement of his '' Symphony No. 2'' as a galop. * The "

Devil's Galop "Devil's Galop" is a piece of light music composed by Charles Williams. It became famous as the theme tune to the radio serial '' Dick Barton – Special Agent''. The word "galop" in the title refers to the galop dance (which, in turn, refers to ...

" by Charles Williams is another example. * The "Infernal Galop" from '' Orpheus in the Underworld'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

. * The "Comedians' Galop" from '' The Comedians'' by Dmitry Kabalevsky are two others. * The "Prestissimo Galop" by

Émile Waldteufel Charles Émile Waldteufel (9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French pianist, conductor and composer known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Life Émile Waldteufel (German for ''forest devil'') was born at 84 Grand'Rue in the c ...

. * The "Malapou Galop" by Joseph Lanner. * Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) wrote several galops, including the "

Champagne Galop The ''Champagne Galop'' ( da, Champagnegaloppen) is a piece of orchestral music by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) which was written to celebrate the second anniversary of Copenhagen's Tivoli in 1845. Together with Lumb ...

" (1845). Other works include the "Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop" (1847) and the "Telegraph Galop" (1844). *

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

composed the galop " French Ballet Class" for two pianos in his score for the film ''

Shall We Dance Shall We Dance may refer to: Films * ''Shall We Dance'' (1937 film), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical * ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996 film), a Japanese film about ballroom dancing * ''Shall We Dance?'' (2004 film), an American remake of the ...

''. * Galops were also written by

Nino Rota Giovanni Rota Rinaldi (; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979), better known as Nino Rota (), was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visco ...

. *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

wrote some galops for piano, notably the " Grand Galop Chromatique" (1838), as well as the "Galop in A minor" (1846).

Sources

External links

Streetswing's Dance History:
"Galop"

Herman Koenig Dance forms in classical music European dances {{Dance-stub