A

David

Darling

saraband

A saraband, or sarabande, is a stately dance, similar to a minuet, very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries in Spain, France, and England. The music for the saraband is in slow triple time with accent on the second beat. Thes saraband evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. It was used throughout much of classical music, especially in the Baroque era: for example, the music of French baroque composer Jean-Marie LeClair. It was revived in the 19th and early 20th centuries by the German composer Louis Spohr, Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, French composers such as Claude Debussy and Erik Satie, and in England, in different styles, RalphVaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten.