Three Dance Episodes from "Spartacus"
Aram Khachaturian (arr. Donald Hunsberger)
General Info
Year: 1954 / 1969
Duration: c. 13:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: MCA
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print
For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.
Movements
1. Dance of a Greek Slave - 4:40
2. Entrance of the Merchants - 7:20
3. Dance of a Roman Courtesan: General Dance - 1:45
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute III
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Triangle
- Wood Block
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Khachaturian was well known for his ballets, especially Spartacus and Gayne. In arranging these three dances for band, Hunsberger has shown a complete knowledge of scoring for wind and percussion instruments. Excellent players are required on the solo parts was well as in the tuba, horn and percussion sections.
The first dance is divided into Dance of a Greek Slave, Entrances of the Merchants, Dance of a Roman Courtesan, and General Dance. The second section, in a slower tempo, has two parts: Dance of the Phrygia, and Dance of a Egyptian Girl. The fiery finale is title Sword Dance of the Young Thracians. The ballet Sparaicus was composed in 1954.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Peninsula Symphonic Band (Palo Alto, Calif.) (Ted Henderson, conductor) - 20 August 2023
- Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Orchestra (William Talley, conductor) – 22 March 2019
- University of South Carolina Aiken Symphonic Winds (Cormac Cannon, conductor) - 22 April 2018
- University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Orchestra (Terrence Milligan, conductor) – 2 March 2018
- Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble (Oneonta, N.Y.) (Scott Rabeler, conductor) - 16 November 2014
- Harmonie Wilhelmina Wolder (Maastricht, The Netherlands) (Rob van der Zee, conductor) - 1 June 2013
- Los Medanos College (Pittsburg, Calif.) Symphonic Band (John F. Maltester, conductor) – 15 March 2006 (CBDNA 2006 Western/Northwestern Division Conference, Reno, Nev.)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Adagio from "Sparticus"
- Aegina and Bacchanalia (arr. Hicken) (1954/1970/2010)
- Armenian Dances (arr. Satz) (1945)
- Armenian Folk Song and Dance (arr. McAlister) (1932/1988)
- The Battle of Stalingrad (arr. Kalinkovich) (1949/1969)
- Concerto for Flute (trans. Rampal) (1940/1968)
- Galop (arr. Erickson)
- Gayaneh Dance Suite No. 1 (arr. Snoeck) (1939/2009)
- Gayaneh (arr. Van der Beek)
- March of Zangezur (arr. Mesikapp) (1938/)
- Sabre Dance (arr Balent) (arr. Balent)
- Sabre Dance (arr Bullock) (arr. Bullock)
- Sabre Dance (arr Oliver) (arr. Oliver)
- Sabre Dance (arr Story) (arr. Story)
- Suite from "Masquerade" (arr. Patterson) (1941/1944/2016)
- Three Dance Episodes from "Sparticus" (arr. Hunsberger) (1969)
- Three Dances from "Gayneh" (arr. Inagaki) (1939/1982)
- To the Heroes of the Patriotic War (arr. Berz)
- Uzbek March and Dancing Song (arr. McAlister)
- The Valencian Widow (arr. Somers) (1940/2000)
Resources
- Khachaturian, A.; Hunsberger, D. (1969). Three Dance Episodes from the Ballet Sparaicus [score]. MCA Music: New York.
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 342.