The Sarabande: An Exotic Dance Tamed in the French Courts
The Sarabande
Hey Musicus who are sailing through the oceans of ancient dances!
In this guide, you will discover with me what a Sarabande is, what its characteristics are, and what you need to know to play it better and compose new ones!
This guide is a handout of the main concepts told and explained very carefully in two beautiful books, which are a must-have in any musician's library.
These books, which I recommend you purchase if you want to delve deeper into the subject, are:
- Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach
- Dance Rhythms of the French Baroque
Well, are you ready to embark on this short but intense adventure?
See you in the next paragraph!
History and Origins
The Sarabande is dance probably of Spanish origin, which appeared in Italy at the beginning of the 17th century as a colorful, tempestuous, and exotic dance.
It was originally accompanied by castanets, and guitars that played continuous variations on a series of harmonies, chords punctuated by the fiery Rasquedo strum.
After entering the French court tradition, the Sarabande continuously changed character, becoming a dance with a completely opposite character.
From the choreography, it appears as a calm, tender, orderly, balanced, sustained dance.
Affects and Tempo
Writers from Bach's era used a wide variety of terms to describe the Sarabande but consistently alluded to an intensity of expressions.
Some described it as “Grave” or “Ceremonious.” Others called it “Majestic” or “Serious.”
Rémond de Saint-Mard said that it was “always melancholy, and exudes a delicate yet serious tenderness.”
Johann Mattheson insisted that the Sarabande “has no other emotion to express but ambition.”
James Talbot, as quoted by Robert Donington, writes in 1690: “Sarabande a soft passionate Movement… apt to move the Passions and to disturb the tranquillity of the Mind.
Compositive Elements
Metric structure of the Sarabande from Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach
Metric Structure:
The Sarabande has 3 quarter-note beats per measure in a time signature of 3.
Generally they have 3 or 3/4 as time signatures; some has 3/2 (in this case the piece moves by three half-note beats per measure.
The Harmonic change is primarily on the level of the beat.
Phrases are consistently four or eight measures long.
Music theorists of the late seventeenth and eighteenth century who mentioned sarabande tempo agree it was slow or very slow.
Several composers used time-words which imply much variety:
Francois Couperin: “Sarabande” or “Sarabande grave”.
Montéclair: “Sarabande grave”, and “Sarabande légère” marked with “Gay. Movement de Chacone”.
Variation techniques:
Variation techniques are important to the soloistic style of the Sarabande by the late 17th century: many composers included doubles, or ornamented repeats.
Sarabande Dance Rhythm:
The Sarabande has harmonic-rhythmic phrase of 12 beats (4 measures).
The thesis or release from tension, occurs on beat 10 (beginning of measure 4) and diminishes further (becomes more the tic) going to beat 12.
A preliminary thesis is often heard in measure 2: beginning on beat 4 and continuing into beat 6, but often “spoiled” by harmonies and rhythms which keep the movement going forward.
The common patterns of motion and repose in the sarabande are almost always aTAT or aaAT (A = strong arsis, T = strog thesis, a = smaller arsis, t = smaller thesis).
Balance is an important Sarabande characteristic.
One seldom encounters phrases which are not 4 or 8 measures long: phrases of 5, 6, or 9 measures occur only rarely.
By the early 18th century there is one sarabande type or form, but an invariable phrase length and shape which appears in seemingly endless modifications.
The Classic French Sarabande:
This is the most widespread sarabande style in this period, not only in French Music but also in Italian, German, and English works.
Typical rhythms of the French Sarabande:
Typical rhythmic patterns in the Sarabande, from Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach
Let's analyze each phrase:
Phrase a:
- Typical “sarabande syncopation”
- Beat 2 is the highest point and more strongly accented than the 1st
- Beat 4 is the Thesis (release of tensione) and beat 6 is even more thetic
Phrase b:
- 4 measure phrase
- 3 measures of the syncopation module (short-long) and Thesis on beat 10
- Beats 2, 5, and 8 are all emphasized: the composer or the performer should identify one of them as the highes point.
Phrase c and d:
- The syncopation module is in the thetic measure.
- Often composers, in order to make it less emphasized, contribute toward a restful quality by using the same harmony on a syncopation in a thetic measure, or by a feminine cadence.
Phrase e:
- 4-measure phrase
- Arsic syncopation module in the first measure.
- Characteristic hemiolia figure in measures 2-3 of the 4-measure phrase (sometimes the hemiola may be ambiguous).
Phrase f:
- 4-measures phrase
- Syncopation module only in the thetic measure (n. 4)
Phrase g:
- 4-measure phrase
- No syncopation at all
Analysis of 3 Sarabandes
Sarabande Analysis 1: Charles Dieupart F Minor
The first Sarabande we will analyze together is by Charles Dieupart.
On Patreon, you can download the sheet music with the analysis I have prepared for you:
With a small but very important contribution, you can get a lot of exclusive content on Patreon! Additionally, you will support this project, enabling the creation of more new content and spreading the magic of music all over the world!
Sarabande Analysis 2: Louis Couperin B Minor
The second Sarabande we will analyze together is by Louis Couperin.
On Patreon, you can download the sheet music with the analysis I have prepared for you:
With a small but very important contribution, you can get a lot of exclusive content on Patreon! Additionally, you will support this project, enabling the creation of more new content and spreading the magic of music all over the world!
Sarabande Analysis 3: Johann Adam Reincken
The third Sarabande we will analyze together is by Johann Adam Reincken.
On Patreon, you can download the sheet music with the analysis I have prepared for you:
With a small but very important contribution, you can get a lot of exclusive content on Patreon! Additionally, you will support this project, enabling the creation of more new content and spreading the magic of music all over the world!
Write your Sarabande!
And now the time has come to write your Sarabande!
Follow the instructions I'll give you in this video and compose your Sarabande!
Playing Music is not Enough!
Today's musician must know how music is composed, how to analyze each piece, and how to improvise with their instrument...
For this reason, I teach musicians all over the world how to express their creativity by teaching composition with the historical method of Partimenti!
Richardus Cochlearius
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