An ‘învârtită’ is a popular dance în which participants dance in pairs, arms on the shoulders. Each pair generally moves in one of two ways: either lightly walking in place following the rhythm of the music, or spinning (învârtire, from which the song obtains its name) around the center of the couple, again taking steps in the rhythm of the music.
The music is composed of repeatable phrases, or blocks, which can be repeated or arranged in almost any order, to the performer’s whim, in order to facilitate dancing or ambience. The blocks themselves come in two types: quick ‘spinning’ ones, generally a measure or less, or slower ones, lasting a measure or two. The musical structure of each fast block is generally framed by four groups of three notes in a triplet, maintaining a 4/4 time signature but decomposing every quarter note into an eighth note triplet. Individual notes most often have a length of 1/12 (one eighth note triplet) or 2/12 (2/3 of a triplet, tied) of the measure, in order to create a jumping movement similar to a horse galloping, which provides a strong dancing rhythm.
In dances, for example in weddings, blocks are repeated more often to lessen the complexity while still providing a structure for the dance movements. However, when played by shepherds, in the countryside, blocks are repeated less often and rather are connected one to another, more for the performer’s enjoyment than a dance.
Below is an interpretation of the învârtită for a wedding, illustrating the repetition of blocks:
To see the sheet music for this piece, containing all the fragments, see this post.
Thank you.
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