Across Genres & Styles–Arrangements of Sabre Dance
March 2nd, 2006 by jenh
I enjoyed listening to these three different arrangements of Sabre Dance. (My favorite is a video performance by the exuberant Marimba Ponies–independent young musicians performing as a small ensemble that has no need for a conductor–isn’t that a goal our students should reach?) Thank you to Alex Ross for finding these arrangements. There are many more arrangements of this popular piece.
What a great opportunity for teachers and students to explore the how and why of transforming a piece of music from the classical music “canon”.
Possible questions to encourage discussion:
How are each of the arrangements different from Khachaturian’s original orchestral version? How are they similar? How are the listening experiences of each version different and/or similar?
Why are there a variety of versions of Sabre Dance, some in non-classical styles or genres? What is it about the piece that has caused a broad spectrum of musicians to arrange it in several different styles or genres?
What piece of music would you choose to arrange and how would you do it?
Here’s one more arrangement of “Sabre Dance” played by the group Bowfire with a guest violinist. It would be great to have students listen to all of these different arrangements and discuss the similarities and differences between them!