Tchaikovsky's Arabian COFFEE Dance (from Nutcracker) - Analysis

In this episode we'll see how Tchaikovsky summons the exotic arabian dancers in the Nutcracker ballet, using modal mixture, oriental ornaments and meandering structural segments over a rhythmic ostinato. With your analysis guide Henrik Kilhamn.
0:00 About
1:33 Analysis
6:45 Complications
12:38 Recap
15:12 Coda
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Music: P. I. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71a, II. "Danse Arabe." Arrangement for piano by the composer.
📄 Score: Score: Jurgenson (1892), D. Rahter (1898), imslp.org
imslp.org
Emoji artwork provided by JoyPixels, joypixels.com
Piano: Yamaha C3
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[@MosesM514]

I wouldn't be introduced to all these interesting concepts and pieces without your channel. Thanks so much! These oriental pieces have a sort of earthly sound to me.

[@SonataSecrets]

Yeah, that's true...

[@ciararespect4296]

Haha they would call the racist now by trying to emulate the sounds of other cultures The world's gone mad

[@WondrousHello]

Really nice piece. Makes me wanna see the nutcracker.

[@bayareaconsult4115]

What a beautiful piece and very talented explanation 🙏👏👍

[@simongross3122]

What a wonderful piece. Thanks for your excellent demonstration and analysis.

[@kennyfrien-i]

Appreciate this kind of analysis, glad to have discovered your channel!

[@SonataSecrets]

Welcome!

[@joelphillips8363]

Thank you so much for your insightful videos👌🏼

[@groucho915]

I played this piece this summer, I found it really fascinating and hypnotizing. Happy you just did a great analysis of it!

[@PeterMHanna-wl6rh]

wow ! wonderful !!

[@markandrewpiano]

Thanks for sharing this analysis!

[@joyfulfishman5445]

I love your videos so much!

[@spiegel311]

Just discovered your channel and I loved it immediately. Thanks for the awesome explanations!

[@pyjparte6510]

This is great! Thankyou!

[@garydmcgath]

It's interesting that Tchaikovsky's best-known use of the "Hungarian Minor" is in March Slav. Composers in the 19th century and earlier often weren't clear on which ethnicity went with which music.

[@john_demartini]

Cross-relation! My favorite thing

[@caterscarrots3407]

I prefer pedal for Tchaikovsky as well. In general, I avoid pedal outside of a few pieces for like Beethoven or anybody before Beethoven. Even Schubert, like it depends whether you're talking the pieces with more Beethoven influence(ex. the C minor impromptu) or the pieces without much Beethoven influence. I'm less likely to use the pedal in the more Beethoven influenced pieces by Schubert. In Bach, I resort pedal to arrangements of organ pieces. In Mozart, I resort it mostly to the fantasias. In Beethoven, I don't use it at all unless it's marked(Moonlight Sonata and symphony transcriptions being the main pieces with pedal use). But Chopin and beyond, I err on the side of "Pedal, even when it's not marked."

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

2:20 , this is a Vorhalt chord, or whatever you call it in english, for most theorists . The modal, minor dominant relationship is , however, the relavant sound there. This si a typical case of jazz notation: i guess you prefered this notation because is the easiest one to notate, not the more correct? Because the g´ is without doubt ht etonic there, not d´.

[@SonataSecrets]

I assume "Vorhalt" is German? Pretty close to our Swedish "förhållning." English would be "suspension," but I've grown hesitant recently to use that for chords like this because in English suspension might have a narrower meaning (as in only being prepared and tied over), in contrast to an appoggiatura which is accented on the beat. I would probably use the Vorhalt equivalent in Swedish but I'm not really sure in English! I don't think the G is necessarily the root because it's a pedal point present at all time, but you're right that it's a kind of elaboration (suspension) that resolves to a Gm the next bar, and maybe not a structural dominant. Interesting how Tchaikovsky makes it so hard to talk about! :)

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

@@SonataSecrets yes suspension is unfortunately not so clear, however correct. I don’t know better translation . Unfortunately some german terms are key to understand the common practice period , to not say others :/ like zwischendominant. My opinion is to force a direct translation when other one is not possible. I have this problem in portuguese , my mother language! But we all HAVE words;it lacks use