The sarabande is a type of dance that has three beats per measure, or the music that is written for this dance. It originated from the Spanish word "zarabanda."

History

The Sarabande originated from a Spanish dance that had Arab influences. It was performed by couples in two lines, and castanets were used. A dance called Zarabanda was first mentioned in 1539 in a poem titled Vida y tiempo de Maricastaña, written in Panama by Fernando de Guzmán Mejía. In 1596, Alonso López, known as "el Pinciano," linked its origins to the worship of Dionysus. The dance was especially popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, first in Spain and later in Spanish colonies.

The Jesuit priest Juan de Mariana considered it inappropriate. In his 1609 work Tratato contra los juegos públicos, he described the dance and song as "so loose in its words and so ugly in its motions that it could excite bad emotions in even very decent people." A character in a play by Cervantes referred to the dance as having "hell" as its "birthplace and breeding place" (in Spanish: origen y principio). It was banned in Spain in 1583, but people still performed it, and it was often mentioned in literature of the time, such as works by Lope de Vega.

The Sarabande spread to Italy in the 17th century and later to France, where it became a slow court dance.

The Sarabande was used in classical music, especially during the Baroque era. For example, the French Baroque composer Jean-Marie Leclair wrote a Sonata for 2 violins in D major Op.12 no.3, and Dietrich Buxtehude composed a Trio Sonata in E minor Op.1/7 BuxWV 258, which featured the Sarabande style. This style likely influenced later composers such as Handel and Bach, who also used the Sarabande in their works.

In the 18th century, Baroque musicians often wrote dance suites in binary form, which included a Sarabande as the third movement. It was often followed by a jig or gigue. Bach gave the Sarabande a special place in his music, especially in his suites for cello or keyboard. Outside of dance suites, examples include the theme and variations from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, as well as the final movements of both the St. John and St. Matthew Passions.

A harmonic sequence known as La Folia appears in many compositions, mainly dances, by composers from the time of Mudarra (1546) and Corelli through to the present day. This theme may have been influenced by its Spanish origins. The Sarabande from Handel’s Keyboard Suite in D minor (HWV 437) for harpsichord, one of these pieces, is featured prominently in the film Barry Lyndon.

The Sarabande was revived in the 19th and early 20th centuries by composers such as Louis Spohr (Salonstücke, Op. 135 of 1847), Edvard Grieg (Holberg Suite of 1884), Debussy, Satie, Vaughan Williams (Job: A Masque for Dancing), Benjamin Britten (Simple Symphony), Herbert Howells (Six Pieces for Organ: Saraband for the Morning of Easter), and Carlos Chávez (La hija de Cólquide).

The Sarabande inspired the title of Ingmar Bergman’s final film, Saraband (2003). The film uses the Sarabande from Bach’s Fifth Cello Suite, which Bergman also used in Cries and Whispers (1972).