Classical Music/ballet music

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Expert: - 6/8/2010


Question
Hi There,
I was wondering if you would please be able to help identify this music that my children are using for a ballet dance, I'm hoping to get a better copy once I know who it possibly is.
The music has been handed around through the dance school students and the identity lost in the process.
http://members.aussiebroadband.com.au/jhender/sadie.mp3

Thank You
Jason

Answer
Bingo!  

"It is the Clog Dance (duh!) from La Fille Mal Gardee. John Lanchbery assembled the score for the ballet from various 18th and 19th century tunes.

"To inspire Lanchbery to write music for a Clog Dance, Ashton took the composer to a performance of Lancashire clog dancers. The dance is performed in the ballet by Lise's mother, the Widow Simone. Lanchbery decided to use the leitmotiv for the Widow Simone from Hertel's score, the only music by Hertel that Lanchbery's score contains. Ashton fashioned a humorous number from this music for Simone and four ballerinas, at the beginning of which Lise tempts her mother with a pair of clogs, which she cannot resist. She puts them on and whirls into one of Ashton's most celebrated numbers, which also features the dancers using the clogs to perform sur le pointe (on their toes).

"Thanks go out to my buddy, Gregg Gleasner, at the SF Symphony."

~~

Thanks to Steve in FL.  (Go Gators!)  

Classical Music

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Marbeth

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I have a PhD in musicology, with expertise in medieval - Renaissance - Baroque - Classical periods, but I'll try to help you with any period.

>>*****IMPORTANT NOTE*****<<: I do not answer questions marked "private." I don't want to type the same thing to someone else later if I typed it to you already! If you mark your request "private," I will send it back to you requesting you to remove the "private" flag. Thanks for your understanding. Remember, I'm a volunteer.

My answers are not toss-offs. If I don't know the answer, I will do my best to find it.

I have many requests to identify a piece of music. If I can't identify it, I will tell you (1) what composer I think it is; (2) what composer or composers I think it is not; (3) what style period, genre, etc. I think it is or is not. And give you any other help I can to help you find the answer.

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