Zigeunerweisen

Thoroughly committed Spaniard though he was, the violinist in Sarasate clearly could not resist the virtuoso and colour opportunities offered by Hungarian-gypsy fiddle music. He was actually so excited by it that his Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Tunes) exceeds in popularity every one of his dozens of violin works based on Spanish folk music and is at least equal in that respect to his Carmen Fantasy. Written in 1878, it is the earliest of the pieces by which he is still known today. Perhaps for that reason, but perhaps also because of the challenge offered by an alien and yet violin-orientated idiom, it is also one of the freshest. The virtuoso effects are obviously extravagant but seem in this case not so much laid on as inspired by the material and are in many cases derived from the gypsy violinist’s repertoire (not to mention the occasional hint of cimbalom figuration).

Like Ravel’s Tzigane, Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen is a kind of Hungarian rhapsody, with a slow and melancholy introduction followed by a contrastingly vigorous dance according to the lassu-friss convention. The opening section is as expressive as anything Sarasate ever wrote. The melodies are not his own but their treatment certainly is. A passionate declaration on the G-string might be embellished by a dazzling leap up to the other extreme of the violin range and back again. A heavily nostalgic melody might be harmonised in double-stopped thirds, coloured by harmonics, decorated by chromatic runs, rapid arpeggios, and atmospheric fingered tremolos. The dance that follows is an exuberant, non-stop display of brilliant bowing techniques often in high registers and occasionally complicated by a flurry of left-hand pizzicato.

The orchestra, on the other hand, has little to do, apart from offering harmonic sympathy and rhythmic encouragement.