Music: Irish Inspired

[dancingmeghan]

I was hoping someone could point me in a direction of a composer or a composition that evokes an Irish festive dance. It does not have to be pure classical but it will be for a beginning/intermediate ballet piece.

[Mel Johnson]

I think you wouldn't go far wrong in listening to Gustave Holst's "St. Paul's Suite" or his "Second Suite in F for Military Band". The last movement of each is based on "Dargason" - commonly known as "The Irish Washerwoman". It's played contrapuntally with "Greensleeves" in a neat bit of polyphony!

 

If you can't find those, there's always Camille Saint-Saens' Incidental Music to Henry VIII, which may be based on an English king, but has very Irish-sounding formations throughout.

[MJ]

NYCB does some "Irish pieces" don't know what music they use.

[Mel Johnson]

If you're thinking of "Irish Fantasy", that's the Saint-Saens. Leroy Anderson also wrote an "Irish Suite" which is easy to dance to, and to excerpt.

[dancingmeghan]

Thank you for your suggestions Mr. Mel and MJ. I absolutely love Holst's St. Paul's Suite. It just so happens that Greensleeves is one of my 'All Time Favorites', so I may be a bit biased, but the Finale/Dargoson is awesome. I'll need studio time (one con of winter breaks..) to really test them out because Anderson's "Washerwoman" is growing on me.

I've searched and searched for Saint-Saens but can not find Irish Fantasy/Henry VIII except a variation from Julio Bocca, Danse de la Gypsy excerpt, or the opera form. Could it be called something else?

[Mel Johnson]

No, Irish Fantasy is Irish Fantasy. It was choreographed by Jacques d'Amboise in the sixties. I doubt that it has ever been videorecorded. Too bad, as it's very enjoyable. But that shouldn't stop a search for audio.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Delibes-Sylvia-compl...0998&sr=8-6