Saraband

(sarabande; It. sarabanda; Fr. sarabande; Ger. Sarabande). A dance of Spanish or Middle Eastern origin, at first a dance song in 16th-century Hispanic countries. The origin of the word is conjectural, its roots variously traced to Arabia via Moorish Spain, to Mexico, or to Panama.

Ironically, one of the earliest mentions of the word saraband occurs in the ruling of the Spanish Inquisition in 1583 that forbade the performing of the saraband on penalty of fine and imprisonment, apparently due to its immoral and suggestive nature.

Half a century after its proscription in Spain, the saraband quietly slithered into France and even Elizabethan England, becoming a stately dance in triple time. It remained popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, with both fast and slow types developing.

The saraband became an integral part of the BAROQUE instrumental SUITE, found in works by JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL, and other masters. The instrumental form usually has two eight-measure reprises, in slow tempo and triple time. Its place in the suite, as the slowest movement, is before the GIGUE, with an optional movement often interpolated.