The Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, is the first set of eight dances written by Dvorak "to preserve, to translate into music, the spirit of a people distinct in their national melodies or folk-songs." The pieces were commissioned by Simrock, Brahms' publisher, who wanted to take advantage of the popularity of Brahms' Hungarian Dances.
Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No. 2 is a study in contrasts. Unlike the other dances in his Op. 46, which are Bohemian in origin, this is a "dumka," a piece of Ukrainian folk music likened to a lament, or meditation. Dumky, usually in duple meter and in minor mode, began as laments sung by women. Instrumental dumky began appearing in the latter nineteenth century, written primarily by Slavic composers, such as Janácek, Lysensko, Mussorgsky.
As in most of the dumky written by Dvorak, there are bright, fast sections that intersperse with the minor mode sections. This dumka begins with a thoughtful, tuneful, strolling melody in E minor, but which ends with a G major fillip. The fillip leads to a quick dance that sounds as if a dancing troupe or acrobats have suddenly appeared in the village, complete with their own band. (It is somewhat reminiscent of Offenbach's Can-Can.) Then the thoughtful melody is back, with slight variations, as is typical of the folk tradition. The ending fillip is taken up by the band, sped up, and twisted back into their quick dance of before. This alternating of the two melodies occurs once more, before the first melody finally imposes, with a coda comprised of the little fillip being repeated in various instruments as the piece drifts off. Opposite motion of the lines among orchestra voices are heard throughout the work. Smooth legato melodies are accompanied by shorter, faster figures. Figures and motives are broken up, inverted, re-combined, and played against one another, while tempo changes occur frequently. Shimmering chords are offset with bombastic ones. This dumka is not really a lamentation, but a daydream intruded upon by the excitement of the real world. ~ Patsy Morita, All Music Guide
