The Pajdushka for Orchestra is a short 5 minute work for Full Orchestra.
The theme presented at the first half of the work and what follows in the Second Half is a development section with a more modern atonal feel. The final proclamation is heroic but then dies down to a calm ending. This work was written in 2016 and revised in 2019.
I was first introduced to the Bulgarian dance "Paidushko horo" by a friend who plays flute. She had the score to Four Macedonian Pieces, a suite for Alto Flute and Classical Guitar written by Serbian guitarist and composer Miroslav Tadic. The Pajdushka is the second movement of this suite. I enjoyed the idea of mixing the short, punchy 2-3 rhythm which is punctuated by a longer measure of 5/4 time.