fff2.at has some examples.
Zwiefache
Conventions for abbreviations
Please see the page
Friends of Zwiefacher
for more detailed information such as email address or homepage ...
What is a Zwiefacher?
The Zwiefacher is a category of dances with changing
rhythm. There are some hundreds of patterns and
some/most?/all? of the different
patterns have a text to easily remember the pattern.
In Austria there is only about a dozen of patterns common.
The "Alte Kath" for example is a special tune with a special text and
a special pattern. And it belongs to the category (!) "Zwiefacher".
From the Lehrbehelf für Volkstanzleiter:
Zwiefache gehören zu den Werbetänzen.
Zwiefache sind taktwechselnde Rundtänze, wobei es regelmäßige und
unregelmäßige Taktwechsel gibt.
Please see
Elisa's definition
as well.
Is Zwiefacher Austrian or German?
I think it comes from Bavaria (Germany) but many people in Austria
like it, especially the advanced dancers.
From the Lehrbehelf für Volkstanzleiter:
Das Kerngebiet des Zwiefachen liegt in Niederbayern und in der
Oberpfalz.
The History
From the Lehrbehelf für Volkstanzleiter:
Man glaubt, daß bereits Mitte des 16. Jhdt. taktwechselnde Tänze bekannt
und gebräuchlich sein müssen, da sie des öfteren in Lautenbüchern dieser
Zeit auftauchen. Leider fehlen dazu Zeugnisse der Tanzart.
Die Blütezeit des Zwiefachen muß vor dem 19. Jhdt. liegen.
In English:
It is said that there must have been dances with changing rhythm since
the midth of the 16 th century. The heydays of the Zwiefacher must have
been before the 19 th century.
Please see Elisa's comment
as well.
Resources in English
See below.
Literature
"Sänger- und Musikantenzeitung" 27. Jahrgang, Heft 1
In der "Sänger- und Musikantenzeitung" 27. Jahrgang, Heft 1, ist ein
Artikel "Die Zwiefachen" von Karl Horak. Er schreibt unter anderem:
Einige wenige Zwiefache sind ... aus dem mittleren Schwarzwald bekannt,
... ebenso aus den deutschen Sprachinseln in Mähren, Schönhengst und
Kuhländchen ... Der Beethoven-Biograph Anton Schindler berichtet, daß er
in den Wienerwalddörfern um 1830 noch Tänze gesehen hat, in welchen der
Dreivierteltakt plötzlich in einen Zweivierteltakt überging.
Lists of Zwiefache
- Birgit Windl's list of Zwiefache
- Mario Herger is currently
offering the description and tunes for
- Elisa's list
with more than 60 examples of Zwiefache.
- A resource for the text of 5 Zwiefache you'll find below.
- Some examples of Zwiefache are given below.
Singing Zwiefache
From Elisa's page:
They [i.e. Zwiefache] are often accompanied by words
[...] which help to
show where the changes are located.
I have collected some (traditional)
folk songs in German language
and some of them
are Zwiefache:
- Bäurin hat Katz verlorn
- Eisenkeierlnest
- Leutl müaßts lustig sein
- Neun Dörfer
- Wer mir und meiner Schwarz'n was tuat
Examples of Zwiefache
's Luada
This Zwiefacher contains a part which is commonly called a Boarischer
in Austria. The Boarischer is a category of Austrian folk dance and very
similar (I would say identically) to the category Scotish in
e.g. French folk dancing (e.g. dances from the Bretagne).
In Austria this is a big exception from the rule. The rule is: The
Zwiefachen are danced with simple turning.
Die Alte Kath
"Die Alte Kath" is standard German; in dialekt it would be spoken
"Die oide Kath" or "D' oide Kath" or "Die olte Kath"
or something like this ...
's Suserl
Gickerl wannst net krahst
Standard German: Gockelhähnchen (?), wenn Du nicht krähst, ...
Wer den net kann
Standard German: Wer den nicht kann; this means
"Who is not able to do this one ...". The text of the song is
making jokes about the dancers who are not able to dance
this - rather complicated - Zwiefachen.
How to play a Zwiefachen
From Elisa's page:
Zwiefache sheet music written in the traditional way (traditionellen Zwiefachennotierung) is not played the same as modern sheet music. What I mean by this is
that traditional Zwiefache sheet music the 3/4 time measures the quarter note is played like a quarternote, and in 1/4, 2/4, or 4/4 time measures, the 1/8 note is
played as long as a quarternote. If you have Zwiefache sheet music, check it out before you play it.
How to dance a Zwiefachen
From Elisa's page:
Another common misconception is about the flow of this dance. It is actually a stationary dance, with the best dancers in Germany boasting that they can dance in a
small area. Many people ask me where I know this from. There are multiple sources, I have included two here for the skeptical. One was a folkdance teacher from
Germany who taught at a workshop I attended, and that was how he illustrated the dance,
and another is a passage from a book about dances that says:
"Ubrigens: Schlechte Zwiefachen-Tänzer erkennt man daran, daß sie wie der Blitz über die Tanzfläche rasen und hin- und herschwanken; gute
daran, daß sie ruhig fast auf der Stelle tanzen."
which translates approximately to
"BTW: One can recognize poor Zwiefache dancers by the way they race like lightning over the dance floor and totter here and there; the good
ones are those that dance quietly almost in one place."
- Tanz rüber, tanz nüber, Kurt Becher, Bayerischen Landesverein für Heimatpflege e.V.
I would agree and add that
this is true for polka as well. Some people would not believe it ...
However, I saw that the Bavarians are dancing it more stationary than
we [the Austrians] do. Although we are doing it rather stationary as well. (I would
say that Austrain traditional folk dancing in general it more based on turning
than on moving ahead.)
Zweifacher or Zwiefacher and spelling?
"Zwiefacher" is the common term as I know it.
I could not find the word "Zweifacher" in the German
dictionary by Wahrig and I've never heard the word
"Zweifacher", however, in Wahrigs dictionary I found
the term "Zwiefaltiger" as well, which I've never heard before
neither ... ;-)
From Elisa's page:
Now that you know what the dance is, do you know how to spell and pronounce it? The pronunciation and spelling of this dance is often in error. It is correctly
spelled zwiefacher (or zwiefache or zwiefachen based on case), and pronounced "zwee-facher" not "zwii-facher". The prefix "zwie" has the implication of duality,
one entity with two aspects, rather than "zwei" which means the number two and implies two separate entities.
Zwiefacher, Zwiefache, Zwiefachen, ...
Some comments on German Grammar. - Just for the EXTREMELY
interested people!
Please see
Elisa' s hints
as well.
In German the 4 different grammatical cases have
specific endings but the question is, if this should (and could)
be
transformed into other languages. The following
examples shall demonstrate the principle, however,
I do not think that it is very important and sometimes
in English for me it sounds better to use the "wrong"
form ;-)
Examples for the 4 German cases (in singular):
(If you just changed the German words to the corresponding
English ones and you don't mind if it makes sense,
you'll get the following examples. - Just to give you an impression
how it would be
correct in German.)
- CASE 1: This is a Zwiefacher. The Zwiefache is a category
of dances.
- CASE 2: "Die Alte Kath" is a Zwiefachen's name.
- CASE 3: This webpage is dedicated to the Zwiefachen.
- CASE 4: He is dancing a Zwiefachen. He will dance the
next Zwiefachen as well.
Of course there are also forms if you have more
than one "Zwiefachen" (here "Zwiefachen" is 4th case singular,
for example).
A complete table ...
Singular
1. der Zwiefache
2. des Zwiefachen
3. dem Zwiefachen
4. den Zwiefachen
Plural
1. die Zwiefachen
2. der Zwiefachen
3. den Zwiefachen
4. den Zwiefachen
Singular (no Plural)
1. ein Zwiefacher
2. eines Zwiefachen
3. einem Zwiefachen
4. einen Zwiefachen
Examples of usage ...
I do not know of rules about the usage of the word "Zwiefacher"
in English and I think my opinion depends on the extent
an English sentence
reminds me of the German eqivalent. So the following list is
rather subjective and I'd like to hear your opinion.
Again, I do not think that it is really important to know
of German Grammar if
someone wants to talk about Zwiefache in English, however,
it might be fun to confuse people with using different forms
of this word.
- He is talking about Zwiefache.
OK. "Zwiefacher" would not be nice since it is Plural.
- Zwiefache are dances that change time signatures.
OK. "Zwiefacher" would not be nice since it is Plural.
- Each Zwiefache has it's own formula.
OK. Same as in German. I think "Zwiefacher" would not be
ok from the German point of view, but not too bad.
For me "Zwiefacher" would be acceptable as well.
Maybe "Zwiefacher" would produce a more fluent
English since it is (indefinite) nominative singular,
which would be ok for the English language here, I think.
- Friends of Zwiefacher.
Sounds good for me. Maybe because here "Zwiefacher" is
used as a category. In German we would use the singular form
with such sentences and it seems as if I am tending to
use "Zwiefacher" if it sounds singular.
(Whatever this means ...)
- Zwiefache dancers can be seen at ...
OK. "Zwiefacher" would not be nice since it is Plural.
- This dance is a Zwiefacher.
OK. "Zwiefache" would be not so nice here, since the
ending "-e" ist often used for feminine gender but
"Zwiefacher" is masculine. Moreover it is singular and we
found out that it seems to be a good idea using
"Zwiefacher" if it is singular (and someone has
no idea about what form to use).
- He has a book of Zwiefache.
OK.
- He wants to dance a Zwiefachen.
OK. Would be the correct form in German and sounds very
nice. Elisa gives the reason:
Zwiefachen is for when the dance is not in the nominative case
(not the subject, not doing the action).
In German it is called the "4th case" or "accusative".
The nominative is the so-called "1st case".
If you think this special form is too complicated
I'd recommend to use "Zwiefacher" instead. Why?
Maybe, because it is singular and "Zwiefache" in
conjunction with the leading "a" sounds as
if "Zwiefacher" were feminine (see above).
Just my opinion.
- Some of the Zwiefache are rather tricky.
Sounds good and follows the rule "Use
Zwiefache if it is plural." The singular form
"Zwiefacher" would not be nice in this
example. However, in German the form "Zwiefachen"
would be used. Reason: It is accusative again.
For me Zwiefachen would sound sligthly better
here.
- He likes the (next) Zwiefachen.
Perfectly done! For me, Zwiefacher would be
second choice and I would avoid the form Zwiefache.
What form to choose?
There seem(!) to be some rules:
If you want to do it correct
Then you have to choose between
- Zwiefacher
- Zwiefache
- Zwiefachen
(See above.)
If you want to do it simple
I think (just my opinion!) you can
avoid the form "Zwiefachen" and then
you have to choose between
- Zwiefacher: if it is singular
- Zwiefache: if it is plural
The form "Zwiefachen" is substituted with
"Zwiefacher" or "Zwiefache" according to
singular or plural. It seems that substituting
the (singular!) form "Zwiefachen" with
"Zwiefache" does not sound nice since it
sounds as if the word were feminine which
is a bit confusing.
If you want to do it very simple
If you liked to use just one form, I'd recommend
- Zwiefacher (i.e. the singular form)
I think this is better than "Zwiefache" in most
cases but you should avoid sentences
where you want to talk about a number of Zwiefache
such as "Zwiefache are dances ..." To use
the singular form would sound a bit strange
here ...
The revolutionary choice: zwiefach ;-)
I would not be surprised if sometimes in the future
this dance will be simply called a
"zwiefach" in English and
- in my humble opinion - I see this as being rather
consistent with the English
language and not too shocking for us German speakers:
The relation between the two words seems to be similar
to the relation between the English word "waltz" and the German word
"Walzer". Even the plural form
"zwiefachs" could be easily built.
However, I do not know if this has advantages
in pronounciation ... Any comments?
A request, concerning Zwiefache ...
I got the following request, concerning "Zwiefache".
If anybody can give some hints, I will put it on this page.
[...]
The music isn't easy to get in Seattle,
[...]
So I've got the old Otto Ebner EPs,
which don't fit my CD player too well, and two CDs. If you know of sources
for others, I'd appreciate knowing. (especially; has the Ebner music made it
onto CD?)
Sigi Ramstötter und die Teisendorfer Tanzlmusi have a pair of fairly
difficult Zweifachers on their CD, along with Weiss Blau. Mary Lea has an
easy one, Nüdeli, (PPWW) and a difficult one, Zwei Kapellan, on her Cascade
of Tears CD, recorded in USA. Unfortunately Cascade of Tears is a
"Romantic" CD, so the melody line is carried by a piano, the folkdance
(cheap) sound systems barely let it be heard. Oboe, violin and flute
accompany, making the tunes sound wonderful, except they sound like they
escaped the bier garten for the castle tea room and lost most of their souls
somewhere along the way.
The only Zweifacher I have ever found on tape is "Bim Bam Bellala +
Saulocker" by Le P'tit Blanc, a French group.
Both Zwei Kapellan & Bim Bam Bellala have a part that sounds like a Scottish
two step or an open Reinlender. Do German Zweifachers include such parts,
and if they do, are they danced turning or in some other formation?
[...]
Arrangements from Munich
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 09:19:49 -0400
From: Joe Niemczura <josephn@acadia.net>
[...]
here is some information which musicians will be
interested in: I got my arrangements of Zwiefachermusik from:
Bayerischer Landesverein fur Heimatpflege e.V.,
Ludwidtrasse 23 Rgb,
8000 Munchen 22.
The arrangements are titled: Zwiefache aus der Oberpfalz, consisting of
parts for 12-piece brass band ( with score suitable for accordion). the cost
was approx $30(US). This may have changed. The tunes included:Bohmischer
Winde,Saulocker, Seidas Fuata,Eisenkeilnest, Habervogl, Der Finkler,
Bachmuhlert, Eichelober, Schellen-Neuner, Aoanzigs Hendl, Neun Dorfer,
Wintergrun, and Schubkarren. ( my computer doesn't add German punctuation
such as umlauts, sorry)
[...]
Another request ...
I am interested in obtaining other collections of this music, for brass
band. ( we do have an accordionist so it would be great if a score with
chords were included). any suggestions as to where to get such arrangements?
Resources about Zwiefache
Please see the section about literature as well.
Internet resources
Resources in German language
English resources
Sorry, there are very few English resources and I have even
problems to give you German resources. (However, you can ask
the many institutions.)
- Roland's pages, which you are just reading.
- Elisa's
pages about Zwiefacher (... or the Zwiefachen?)
Books, tapes, CDs
The pages of Elisa list the titles of many books & tapes & CDs and the publisher and
the names of the dances/songs included. There are many there which contain
Zwiefache, and the contents at the top is coded to indicate which.
See as well ...
Contributions
I've collected the information above with the help of some people
and I want to thank them:
Maybe this list will be shortened later when it will be obvious
that someone must have contributed information to the page ... ;-)