…in the Polish style, or, in other words, a polonaise. One of Poland’s great exports, the dance is in triple time and has a characteristic…

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…rhythm.

It’s a rather stately number (seen here in a clip from Andrzej Wajda’s film Pan Tadeusz):

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It became popular throughout Europe and composers as diverse as Bach and Chabrier espoused its cause. Here are two examples, the finale of Beethoven’s much neglected Triple Concerto marked Rondo alla polacca:

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…and the opening of the ballroom scene of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin marked Moderato. Tempo di Polacca:

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