The Comedians (Kabalevsky)
Encyclopedia
The Comedians, Op. 26, is an orchestral suite
of ten numbers by Dmitry Kabalevsky. It is one of his best known and best-loved works.
In particular, the "Comedians' Galop" (No. 2) is the single most famous piece of music he ever wrote. It has the same recognition factor as an easily accessible work by a Soviet composer as the "Sabre Dance
" from Aram Khachaturian
's ballet Gayane (1942).
for a children's play called The Inventor and the Comedians, by the Soviet Jewish writer Mark Daniel. The play was staged at the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow
, and it was about the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg and a group of travelling buffoons. Mark Daniel died young the following year.
The Comedians has been frequently recorded, and is often coupled with Aram Khachaturian
's Masquerade Suite
on recordings
The "Galop" was used as the theme tune for the U.S. panel game show What's My Line?
for many years.
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
of ten numbers by Dmitry Kabalevsky. It is one of his best known and best-loved works.
In particular, the "Comedians' Galop" (No. 2) is the single most famous piece of music he ever wrote. It has the same recognition factor as an easily accessible work by a Soviet composer as the "Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance
"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
" from Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's ballet Gayane (1942).
Background
In 1938 or 1939, Kabalevsky wrote incidental musicIncidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
for a children's play called The Inventor and the Comedians, by the Soviet Jewish writer Mark Daniel. The play was staged at the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and it was about the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg and a group of travelling buffoons. Mark Daniel died young the following year.
Concert suite
In 1940, Kabalevsky chose ten short numbers from the incidental music and arranged them into a concert suite. The movements are:- Prologue: Allegro vivace
- Comedians' Galop: Presto
- March: Moderato
- Waltz: Moderato
- Pantomime: Sostenuto e pesante
- Intermezzo: Allegro scherzando
- Little Lyrical Scene: Andantino semplice
- Gavotte: Allegretto
- Scherzo: Presto assai e molto leggiero
- Epilogue: Allegro molto e con brio.
The Comedians has been frequently recorded, and is often coupled with Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's Masquerade Suite
Masquerade (Khachaturian)
The Incidental music to Masquerade was written in 1941 by Aram Khachaturian for a production of Russian poet and playwright Mikhail Lermontov's play of the same name. It premiered on 21 June 1941 in the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow...
on recordings
The "Galop" was used as the theme tune for the U.S. panel game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
for many years.