A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Redowa

by William Barclay Squire

REDOWA, a Bohemian dance which was introduced into Paris in 1846 or 47, and quickly attained for a short time great popularity, both there and in London, although now seldom danced. In Bohemia there are two variations of the dance, the Rejdovák, in 3–4 or 3–8 time, which is more like a waltz, and the Rejdovacka, in 2–4 time, which is something like a polka. The following words are usually sung to the dance in Bohemian villages:

Kann nicht frei'n, weil Eltern
Nicht ihr Jawort gaben:
Weil ich kommen könnte,
Wo kein Brot sie haben—
Wo kein Brot sie haben,
Keine Kuchen backen,
Wo kein Heu sie mähen
Und kein Brennholz hacken.

The ordinary Redowa is written in 3–4 time (Maelzel's Metronome = 160). The dance is something like a Mazurka, with the rhythm less strongly marked. The following example is part of a Rejdovak which is given in Köhler's 'Volkstänze aller Nationen'—

[ W. B. S. ]