Furiant
Romantic works
Definition
A lively Czech dance in 3/4 time characterised by vigorous, stamping rhythms and frequent cross-accents that shift the emphasis against the basic pulse. The furiant creates a perpetual tension between duple and triple feeling within its triple metre. Smetana used it prominently in Czech Dances II (1879) and Dvořák adapted it as a scherzo movement in several of his symphonies and chamber works.
Historical Context
The cross-accents in a furiant must be felt as genuine rhythmic displacements, not mere sforzandi. The stamping character — heavy down-beats suddenly contradicted — is the point. Listen to how Smetana notates the accents: they conflict with the bar-line intentionally. Play the metrical ambiguity straight; do not iron it out.
Works (4)
- Furiant No. 1 in D major, Op. 42 Key D major
- Furiant No. 2 in F major, Op. 42 Key F major
- Furiant in G minor, Op. 12 No. 2 (B. 137) Key G minor
- Furiant (Czech Dances II, No. 1) Key A minor