Smith: Three Dances for Piano

Three dances serve as the inspiraton for this five-minute work. The first movement is a waltz in triple time with its characteristically strong first beat. The middle movement, a sarabande, is also in triple time, but the second beat of each measure is stressed. The work ends with a polesana, a dance in compound quintuple meter. It is said to come from Istria, a part of present-day Croatia. However, this region has had strong ties to Italy throughtout history, and the dance, in Italian, translates "a woman from Pola." Pola (Pula) is a beautiful city in Istria which the composer has visited on several occasions.