A triple meter dance, usually in binary form, originating during the sixteenth century as a wildly exuberant dance song in Latin America, that became one of the most popular dances of the Baroque. One charactersitic feature of many early sarabandes is extensive use of hemiola and cadences on the third beat of the measure. The sarabande went through many changes during the Baroque, initally being a light, cheerful dance of moderately quick tempo. Gradually new forms were introduced; the late seventeenth-century form, used extensively in eithteenth-century France and Germany, generally was much slower, more deliberate, and serious, with a heavy accent on the second pulse of the measure. Composers often provided heavily embellished written-out doubles for this slow sarabande. The sarabande became one of the standard movements of the sonata da camera and the dance suite (along with the allemande, the courante, and the gigue). [DGS; GJC

(from the Ital. sarabanda) : Baroque dance form in triple meter, often the third movement of a suite. The common French and German varieites are slow and stately, with prominent short-long (quarter-half) rhythms.

A dance of Spanish origin, used by Bach in many of his French, English, and orchestral suites. The sarabande is a slow dance in triple meter, with accents on the second and/or third beat. It was quite dignified in character, and usually lacked upbeats.

(it.) - A dance of spanish origin in 3/4 or 3/2 time. Often part of old suites. It has a stady pace and mostly two parts. [back

Stately Spanish Baroque dance type in triple meter, a standard movement of the Baroque suite.

a triple meter dance. In France and Germany, the sarabande was slow and stately. The dance was first known in Mexico and Spain in the 16th century as the zarabanda, however, a wild and extremely erotic dance. Although it was banned in Spain in 1583, it survived throughout the baroque era there and in Italy as a fast dance. It eventually became one of the four standard dances of the baroque suite, usually in its slower guise.

A dance in slow 3/2 or 3/4 time that was one of the four dances in a Suite. In Bach and Handel, it often has a rhythm that emphasizes the second beat.

In music, the sarabande (It., sarabanda) is a slow dance in triple metre with the distinctive feature that beats 2 and 3 of the measure are often tied, giving a distinctive rhythm of crotchet and minim in alternation. The minims are said to have corresponded with dragging steps in the dance.