Folk Dance In D is written for two pianos with four hands, and has an
eastern European or Middle Eastern character which involves the use of
scales not common in the western European musical tradition. The main
theme is based on the octatonic scale and its main motive is A G# D E
flat treated in forward and retrograde motions. Further, the main theme
is treated in an imitative manner. The second theme is somewhat an
octatonic scale, but involves the use of motivic inversion in its
imitation sections. Second theme's main motive is C B C D Flat D Flat C E
Flat D Flat C B C C.
This piece is suitable for concert use and
possibly for film use, but has a strong educational use in that it
explores different scales and counterpoint in many forms, including
retrograde, inversions and many others. Composers such as Bela Bartok
and Olivier Messiaen explore octatonic scales and other modes in their
compositions, typically in Bartok's Six Volumes of Microcosmos for piano
and Messiaen's L'Ascension for organ.
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/folk-dance-in-d-digital-sheet-music/20332220
