"Sabre Dance" is considered one of the signature pieces of 20th-century popular music.[6] It was popularized by pop covers in the U.S. in 1948 and has been covered by a number of rock bands since Dave Edmunds did in 1968. Its use in a wide range in films and television over the decades have significantly contributed to its renown.[7] "Sabre Dance" has also been used in sports, including by numerous figure skaters.
Background
Khachaturian wrote "Sabre Dance", originally called the Dance of the Kurds, after completing the score of Gayane. He did so at the Kirov Theatre's request.[8] He later recounted that it "came into being quite by accident." The director's request for one more dance led the composer to create a contrasting warlike and lyrical piece in just eleven hours, which was then orchestrated, staged, and rehearsed within two days.[9] He wrote in November 1942 that it "immediately impressed" the orchestra, the dancers, and the audience during a full dress rehearsal. Khachaturian initially wanted to end it in a long and gradual diminuendo, but Nina Anisimova and the dancers persuaded him to end it with a gradual crescendo.[8]
Critic Victor Yuzefovich suggests that the Dance of the Polovtsians from Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor served as a prototype for "Sabre Dance" in terms of "emotional frenzy."[10]
"Sabre Dance" is a fast-paced orchestral work lasting approximately two-and-a-half minutes.[11] It follows an ABA form with a bridge and coda. The opening section presents the main theme four times, with the last two repetitions played higher in pitch. The middle section features woodwind instruments accompanied by timpani drums. The bridge is characterized by repeated patterns on the xylophone and dramatic sliding effects on the trombones. When the opening section returns, the theme is heard three times—the second time interrupted by a cymbal crash, and the third played at an even higher pitch. The work concludes with a descending melodic line followed by an upward climb to the final note.[12][13]
The orchestration emphasizes percussion instruments, particularly the xylophone.[14][15] The score calls for several specialized woodwind instruments including piccolo, English horn, and bass clarinet. A brief slower section includes a featured cello solo and alto saxophone. The harp plays throughout most of the piece, while the celesta appears only in the final three measures.[16] The ending creates musical tension by combining different musical scales and keys simultaneously.[17]
Its brief middle section is based on an Armenian folk song.[3][18] According to Tigran Mansurian, it is a synthesis of an Armenian wedding dance tune from Gyumri tied in a saxophonecounterpoint "that seems to come straight from America."[19] Specifically, the fragment is a melodic motif from the folk male dance "Kalosi prken" from the Shirak region.[20][1] Tigranov suggested that "Sabre Dance" embodies the "manly, temperamental, and heroic" essence of Armenian male folk dances.[20]
Critical reception and legacy
"Sabre Dance" has received a mixed reception by critics. NPR's Tom Huizenga described it as "one of the catchiest, most familiar—perhaps most maddening—tunes to come out of the 20th century."[21] David Schwartz described it as "a raucous, silly, and altogether enjoyable piece."[22] Michael Dervan found it "high-tension, catchy and rhythmically insistent".[23] Its high energy and rapid motion have been commonly mentioned.[b] Steven J. Haller called it "a blistering, tub-thumping excess."[28] Another critic, David Mermelstein, found it "garish."[29] During his 1968 U.S. tour, Time magazine described the piece as "a three-minute piece of tuneless orchestral blooey," which had been enough to establish a worldwide reputation for Khachaturian.[30]
Khachaturian felt that other melodies in the Gayane ballet were equally deserving of attention: "I would prefer other works of mine to be as popular as the Saber Dance." He added, "People remember the Saber Dance when Khachaturyan is mentioned. This is pleasing but also annoying."[34] He told an American interviewer, "It's like one button on my shirt, and I have many buttons."[35] Asked how he feels about its popularity by visiting American TV representatives in Moscow, Khachaturian jokingly responded: "Serves you right!"[36] A modern take of the piece was performed at Yerevan Cascade to Khachaturian's 110th anniversary in 2013.[37][38][39]
After World War II, records of dances from Gayane reached the West and "Sabre Dance" quickly became a sensation and "a popular classical hit."[42] In 1948, "Sabre Dance" was recorded by major orchestras, namely the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński,[43][44] the New York Philharmonic conducted by Efrem Kurtz,[45] and the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler.[46] The Chicago and New York ones topped the Billboard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists and ranked among the year's top-selling classical releases.[47] The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's version became the ensemble's first million-selling record.[48]
Oscar Levant helped popularize "Sabre Dance" in the United States between 1947 and 1949.
Piano
The piece has been adapted and arranged for individual instruments. Oscar Levant published a piano solo arrangement of the work[54] and released it through Columbia Records in 1948.[55] He performed it five times on the radio program Kraft Music Hall between December 1947 and December 1948[54] and played the piece in the 1949 film The Barkleys of Broadway.[56] According to the Current Biography Yearbook, it was Levant's rendition that "received popular attention."[57] Oscar's performance in the film "marked a brazen bit of cross-marketing" and provided "what radio and albums could not: a chance to see Levant the concert pianist at work."[58]
Besides the piano, "Sabre Dance" has been transcribed for multiple instruments. In 1948, the piece was transcribed for violin and piano and recorded by violinist Jascha Heifetz,[67][49][68] which Hideko Udagawa has described as "quite difficult."[69] Also in 1948 Charles Magnante offered an arrangement for the accordion and Harry James one for trumpet.[49] By May 1948, Leeds Music Corporation was selling 11 sheet music arrangements for the piece, including for 2 pianos (4 hands) by Pierre Luboshutz and a dance orchestra arrangement by Vic Schoen.[70]
Violinist Vanessa-Mae covered a version by Tolga Kashif in her 2004 album Choreography.[80] The classical crossover act Bond sampled it in the song "Highly Strung" in their 2004 album Classified.[81][82] In 2010, an organ recording featuring Eric Plutz, university organist at Princeton, performing orchestral transcriptions on Princeton's grand Aeolian Skinner-Mander organ.[22] By 2017, Bion Tsang trancribed it for cello and piano from Heifetz's violin arrangement.[83][84]
Pop covers
"There's a rash of sabre dance disks based on the familiar excerpts from Aram Khachaturian's Gay[a]ne Ballet Suite."
In 1948, "Sabre Dance" became a jukebox sensation in the United States,[89] with Newsweek going so far as to dub it the "Khachaturian Year" in America.[90] The song exemplified how the 1940s recording industry commonly produced multiple versions of popular hits.[91] Early 1948 audiences embraced the orchestral piece as a novelty.[92] By May, three distinct interpretations had climbed onto Billboard's Most-Played Juke Box Records chart: Freddy Martin's pop-boogie arrangement reached No. 8,[93]Woody Herman's dance-band instrumental (scored by Ralph Burns) peaked at No. 13,[94][95] and The Andrews Sisters' vocal rendition with harmonica accompaniment landed at No. 28.[96][97][92]
Welsh guitarist Dave Edmunds' band Love Sculpture released a frenzied instrumental[99] version in November 1968.[100][d]Pete Prown and HP Newquist called it "raucous but untraditional."[102]Motörhead's Lemmy described it as "the fastest thing you've ever heard in your fucking life!"[103] It brought Edmunds fame[101] and reached #5 in the UK Singles Chart,[104] and being charted in Switzerland,[105] the Netherlands,[106] and West Germany.[107] Edmunds repeatedly played it,[108] which became his "official guitar showcase piece."[109]
"Sabre Dance" has been used in numerous films, animated films, television series, video games, and commercials over the years, often for humorous effects.[126]Steven Poole notes that it has "become a kind of global musical shorthand for cartoonish urgency,"[127] while Sheri Linden wrote that it has become "a kitsch staple of plate-spinning and magic acts."[128] The piece's popular familiarity has been enhanced by its traditional use as accompaniment by travelling circuses[12] and on television variety shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show (1948–1971) when novelty acts such as plate spinners appeared.[21][129]Conan O'Brien's late night talk show used it as the theme for the masturbating bear.[130] In the Soviet Union, it saw a prominent use in an episode of animated short Well, Just You Wait! (1973).[131][132]
The piece has also been used in sports. The National Hockey League (NHL)'s Buffalo Sabres have used the piece as a theme song since the team was established in 1970.[149] After a hiatus, "Sabre Dance" was again made their theme song in 2011.[150][151]
Since the early 1980s, "Sabre Dance" has been a recurring choice for figure skating programs. It has been performed by competitors from a number of countries in both national and international events.[156]
List of figure skaters who performed to "Sabre Dance"
↑ It was also released in the 2002 album Legendary Liberace: Musical Highlights of the PBS Special.[60]
↑ Before the release, they had played it on the BBC Radio programme Top Gear in the 1960s.[101] Besides the single, it was also released on the 1969 album Forms and Feelings.[101][100]
↑ Robinson, Harlow (2013). "The Caucasian Connection: National Identity in the Ballets of Aram Khachaturian". In Kanet, Roger E. (ed.). Identities, Nations and Politics After Communism. Routledge. p.23. ISBN9781317968665. ...particularly the "Sabre Dance," which became the single most recognized piece of Khachaturian...
↑ Aram Khachaturian, "About the ballet Gayaneh," Nedelya (12 October 1963) in Aram Khachaturian: Articles and Reminiscences, ed. I. E. Popov (Moscow: Soviet Composer, 1980), 132. cited in Kushner, David Z. (October 2018). "Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978): A Retrospective"(PDF). Athens Journal of Humanities and Arts. 5 (4). Athens Institute for Education and Research: 383.
↑ Blades, James (1992). Percussion Instruments and Their History. Bold Strummer. p.341. ISBN9780933224612. Khachaturian employs the xylophone freely in Dance of Young Maidens and Sabre Dance in his Gayaneh Ballet (1942)...
↑ Longe, Jacqueline L. (2001). How Products are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing, Volume 6. Gale Group. p.462. ISBN9780787636425. Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" from his ballet called "Gayane Suite" has a challenging xylophone part...
↑ In the documentary Khachaturian (2003, directed by Peter Rosen), Tigran Mansurian states at around 33:00: "What an interesting synthesis! He's taken a melody from Gyumri, an Armenian wedding dance tune... and he's tied in a saxophone counterpoint that seems to come straight from America. The relationship between the two seems so organic, so interesting!" The film is available online: "Khachaturian: The virtuous Soviet Armenian composer (2003)". EuroArtsChannel on YouTube. July 29, 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
1 2 Taruskin, Richard (2009). Music in the Late Twentieth Century: The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. p.9. ISBN978-0-19-979600-7. Khachaturian .. famous in the West for some colorful concertos and a ballet suite containing a rousing "Sabre Dance" that became a jukebox hit.
↑ Shneerson, Grigory Mikhailovich[in Russian], ed. (1982). Арам Хачатурян: Страницы жизни и творчества: Из бесед с Г. М. Шнеерсоном [Aram Khachaturian: Pages of Life and Work: From Conversations with G. M. Shneerson] (in Russian). Moscow: Sovetsky kompozitor. p.112.
↑ Platte, Nathan (2022). "The Problem of Playing Oneself: Oscar Levant and the Hollywood Musical". In Broomfield-McHugh, Dominic (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical. Oxford University Press. p.355. ISBN9780197503454.
↑ "NEXT WEEK LIBERACE". Hollywood Bowl Magazine (25): 61. 1953. He has definitely set down Khat- chaturian's fiery and exciting "Sabre Dance" as one of the musts...
↑ Abbe, James (January 6, 1954). "Ike's Adress to Congress On Your TV Screen Tomorrow". Oakland Tribune. p.20. The one and only (some say one's enough, others disagree violently) Liberace who ... Maybe we'll get his lady-killing wink between Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" and Lincke's "Glow Worm."
↑ "Larry Adler ... This one's called, reasonably enough, Harmonica and it's new from London Phase 4 Records (PS 920)". Fanfare. 2 (6): 151. 1979. Adler enjoys the material and there's nothing wrong with his popularizations; "Sabre Dance" is the predictable showpiece it always is, be it played by harmonica or a massed band of military kazoos
↑ Maycock, Robert (26 October 2004). "Vanessa-Mae, Royal Festival Hall, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. As on disc, the most effective number is a reconstruction of "Khachaturian's Sabre Dance" by Tolga Kashif, composer of "The Queen Symphony", which relocates the music further south with the help of Middle Eastern rhythms.
↑ Dominic, Serene (December 22, 2004). "Classified". Metro Times. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Bond has the same disregard for public domain as Barney the dinosaur and renamed "Sabre Dance" something far catchier like "High Strung."
↑ Loftus, Johnny. "Bond Classified". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. "Highly Strung," for example, tries to marry Khachaturian's manic Sabre Dance to spy movie guitar and chattering electronics, the result being more garishly cartoonish than interpretive.
↑ "The Billboard Picks [Week Ending January 30]". Billboard. February 7, 1948. p.32.
↑ ""Bourgeois" Composers". Life. 23 February 1948. p.48.
↑ "Soviets throw book at Beria". Life. New York. December 28, 1957. p.17. Meanwhile a musical revolt was stirred up in Russia by Aram Khachaturian, one of the U.S.S.R.'s leading composers, who wrote the U.S. juke box favorite of 1948, Sabre Dance.
↑ Petrak, Albert M., ed. (1985). "Khachaturian, Aram Ilyich". David Mason Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers (1sted.). Garden City, New York: Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation. pp.1329–30. ISBN978-0-385-14278-6. Meanwhile its flashy "Sabre Dance" had conquered the U.S.S.R.'s new American allies and at one time was a standard on juke-boxes.
↑ "Juke-Box Red". Music. Newsweek. Vol.31. New York. 1948. p.72. ...the music agenda in this country shows plenty to indicate that 1948 may be Khachaturian Year in the United States.
↑ "Scratching the Surface". The Saturday Review of Literature. 31 (1): 48. 1948. Not to be outdone by Levant, Woody Herman has recorded a dance-band version of the "Sabre Dance."
↑ Nimmo, H. Arlo (2004). The Andrews Sisters: A Biography and Career Record. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company. p.249.
↑ Vale, V.; Juno, Andrea, eds. (1994). Incredibly Strange Music Vol. II. RE/Search Publications. p.55. ISBN0-940642-21-2. HOLLAND: an otherwise forgettable progressive rock band, EKSEPTION, did a great rock version of "Sabre Dance" on their first album.
↑ "Live music reviews"(PDF). Disc: 24. May 6, 1972. a vivid version of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" (the piece Love Sculpture scored with in 1968).
↑ "Mekong Delta – Kaleidoscope". Discogs. August 1992. Retrieved 2023-09-24. Sabre Dance Arranged By [Arrangement For Group] – Ralph Hubert Written-By – Khachaturian
↑ Lawson, Robert (2017). "Selected discography". Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick. FriesenPress. p.263. ISBN9781525512254. "Didn't Know I Had It All"/ "Love Me For A Minute", "Sabre Dance" (9362-41584-2)
↑ Patterson, Dayal (2013). Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult. Feral House. p.104. ISBN9781936239764. ...irreverent and highly experimental covers of pre-existing compositions (among them Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance"...
↑ Brown, Royal S. (2007). Film Musings: A Selected Anthology from Fanfare Magazine. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. p.124. ISBN978-0-8108-5856-5. there is the famous near miss with Khachaturian's "Saber Dance" with which the music track romps throughout the film.
↑ Van Order, M. Thomas (2009). Listening to Fellini: Music and Meaning in Black and White. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p.131. ISBN9780838641750. ...this simplicity of their relationship is reflected in Carlotta's Gallop, a lighthearted musical leitmotif modeled on Aram Khachaturian's Sabre Dance that represents Carla's presence or influence.
↑ Holmes, John R. (2009). "Danny Elfman". In Cramer, Alfred W. (ed.). Musicians & Composers of the 20th Century. Pasadena, California: Salem Press. p.400. ISBN978-1-58765-512-8.
↑ Maiorana, Sal (2012). 100 Things Sabres Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. p.22. ISBN9781623680152.
↑ Dunford, Jen; Bellas, Chrisanne (11 March 2011). "Opening the suggestion box". sabres.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. This signature song is still typically heard at various times during Sabres games, but many fans suggested a return to the tradition of playing the "Sabre Dance" when the team takes the ice. Beginning Sunday when the Sabres host the Senators, the song will be played when the team takes the ice prior to the second and third periods.
↑ Vogl, John (11 March 2011). "Sabres putting a fan imprint on arena". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2014. Two topics generated significant chatter: music and the team logo. The Sabres will change the tune for their television opening, going from the Scorpions' "Hurricane 2000" to old franchise favorite "Sabre Dance," performed by violinist Vanessa Mae.
↑ "Сезон 81/82". icetrio.ru (in Russian). "Ice Trio" official site of figure skaters Igor Bobrin, Natalia Bestemyanova and Andrey Bukin. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Звучит «Танец с саблями» Хачатуряна. Бестемьянова и Букин за 5–6 секунд рисуют на поле катка целую вязь красивых шагов.
↑ "Bestemianova & Bukin (URS) – 1982 World Figure Skating Championships, Free Dance". YouTube. April 29, 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2022. Cophenhagen, DENMARK – 1982 World Figure Skating Championships, Ice Dancing, Free Dance – Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin of the Soviet Union placed 2nd in the Free Dance and ended up winning the Silver Medal.
↑ "Episode #30: Debi Thomas". The Manleywoman SkateCast. August 24, 2009. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. So I went home and was like, what's the funniest piece of music I have in my collection? Oh, it's Sabre Dance.
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