Arabian Dance is from Act 2 of The Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Whilst not strictly representative of Arab culture, it is nonetheless an expressive and evocative melody that floats over exotic sounding chromatic harmonies all built upon an unwavering ostinato. This arrangement by Gary Spolding for four guitars or guitar orchestra makes use of the full range of the guitar and is written in such a way as to naturally bring out a variety of tonal colours.

Lasting approx. 2½ minutes, the arrangement will suit an ambitious and enthusiastic group of guitarists who have reached grade 2 to 4 standard. The one bar ostinato that stretches the entire piece alternates between Guitars 1 & 4 creating a pleasing antiphonal stereo effect for the audience and also allows a more equal sharing of melody and accompaniment roles. Guitars 3 & 4 have been written to be around ABRSM Grade 2 standard with Guitars 1 & 2 being a little more difficult containing chromatic lines and slurred ornaments in the higher register.

If you work in education, this arrangement has these useful features…
- a 3/8 time signature
- position shifts on strings 1 and 2
- contrasting staccato and tenuto articulation
- subtle soundboard percussion for Guitar 3

This piece is one in a series of arrangements by Gary Spolding for beginner guitar ensembles. Each arrangement has at least one guitar part that is accessible to a player of ABRSM grade 2 standard and the other parts are never more difficult than grade 4. They can be performed as guitar quartets with one player to a part or by guitar orchestra with multiple players per part making them ideal for guitar societies or school concerts.

If you like the look of this arrangement then Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze may also be of interest.

4 page score and separate parts each 2 pages
Grade 2-4
£6 as a pdf
Not available as a book
LMP 214