Balalaika!
Russian Festive Dance
String Orchestra - Sheet Music

Orchestra Cello, Contrabass, Piano, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3 - Grade 3.5

SKU: CF.CAS87

Russian Festive Dance. Composed by James Meredith. Concert String Orchestra. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 16+16+10+4+10+10+4+12 pages. Duration 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Carl Fischer Music #CAS87. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.CAS87).

ISBN 9780825899164. UPC: 798408099169. 9x12 inches. Key: A major.

A Balalaika is a type of Russian folk stringed instrument. They come in a variety of sizes and can have full orchestras of these instruments. The music they play has a distinctly Russian folk music sound and composer James Meredith has worked to present this style in a modern concert piece. The work is a festive dance-like piece and contains quotes throughout of Tchaikovsky themes in order to help give it that Russian flavor. Balalaika is a different and refreshing choice for your next concert.
Good music played well inspires the imagination. The balalaika is a triangular- shaped stringed instrument, essentially a three-string guitar used by Russian peasants for centuries. They come in various sizes and sometimes combine to form balalaika orchestras. Their music is often lively dance music, but sometimes a balalaika ballad can be hauntingly beautiful, such as “Lara’s Theme” from the classic film Doctor Zhivago. This arrangement of Balalaika! is in the lively dance- style based on original tunes but peppered with references to Tchaikovsky.

About Carl Fischer Concert String Orchestra Series

This series of pieces (Grade 3 and higher) is designed for advancing ensembles. The pieces in this series are characterized by:

• Expanded use of rhythms, ranges and keys but technical demands are still carefully considered
• More comprehensive bowing techniques
• Viola T.C. included
• Careful selection of keys and degree of difficulty for advancing musicians