A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Saraband
SARABAND, a stately dance once very popular in Spain, France and England. Its origin and derivation have given rise to many surmises. Fuertes ('Historia de la Musica Espanola,' Madrid, 1859) says that the dance was invented in the middle of the 16th century by a dancer called Zarabanda, who, according to other authorities was a native of either Seville or Guayaquil, and after whom it was named. Others connect it with the Spanish Sarao (an entertainment of dancing), and Sir William Ouseley (Oriental Collections, 1728, vol. ii. p. 197, misquoted by Mendel, under 'Saraband'), in a note to a Turkish air called 'Ser-i-Khaneh,' or 'the top of the house,' has the following:—'Some tunes are divided into three parts and are marked Khȧne-i śdni " the second part "and Khȧne-i śȧliś "the third part"; near the conclusion of several we also find the Persian words ser-band, from which, without doubt, our saraband has been derived.'[1]
Whatever its origin may have been, it is found in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, performed in such a manner as to render its oriental source highly probable. This may be gathered from the following extract from Chapter xii. 'Del baile y cantar llamado Zarabanda,' of the 'Tratado contra los Juegos Publicos' ('Treatise against Public Amusements') of Mariana (1536–1623): 'Entre las otras invenciones ha salido estos anos un baile y cantar tan lacivo en las palabras, tan feo en las meneos, que basta para pegar fuego aun á las personas muy honestas' ('amongst other inventions there has appeared during late years a dance and song, so lascivious in its words, so ugly in its movements, that it is enough to inflame even very modest people'). This reputation was not confined to Spain, for Marini in his poem 'L'Adone' (1623) says:
Chiama questo suo gioco empio e profano
Saravauda, e Ciaccona, il nuova Ispano.[2]
Padre Mariana, who believed in its Spanish origin, says that its invention was one of the disgraces of the nation, and other authors attribute its invention directly to the devil. The dance was attacked by Cervantes and Guevara, and defended by Lope de Vega, but it seems to have been so bad that at the end of the reign of Philip II. it was for a time suppressed. It was soon however revived in a purer form, and was introduced at the French court in 1588, where Richelieu, wearing green velvet knee-breeches, with bells on his feet, and castanets in his hands, danced it in a ballet before Anne of Austria.
In England the Saraband was soon transformed into an ordinary country-dance. The first edition of Playford's 'Dancing Master' (1651) has two examples, one, to be danced 'long wayes for as many as will' (i.e. as 'Sir Roger de Coverley' is now danced), and the other, 'Adson's Saraband,' to be danced 'longwayes for six.' It was at about this time that the Saraband, together with other dances, found its way into the Suite, of which it formed the slow movement, placed before the concluding Gigue. In this form it is remarkable for its strongly accentuated and majestic rhythm, generally as follows:—
It is written either in the major or the minor key, in 3–2 or 3–4 time, although Walther (Lexicon, 1732) says that it may be also written in 2–4 time. It usually consists of two 8- or 12-bar divisions, begins on the down-beat, and ends on the second or third beat. Bach, in the 'Clavierübung' Pt. I. (Bachges. iii. 76) has a Saraband beginning on the up-beat, and Handel (Suite XI) has one with variations. Those by Corelli do not conform to the established rules, but are little more than Sicilianas played slowly.
The following Saraband for the guitar is printed in Fuertes' 'Historia de la Musica Española.'
[App. p.780 "add a dot to each quaver rest; and make the last G♮ quaver in line 1, and the E quaver in line 3, semiquavers."]
Handel's noble air 'Lascia ch'io pianga,' in 'Rinaldo,' is taken with no material alteration from a Saraband in his earlier opera of 'Almira,' in which the majestic rhythm mentioned reigns in all its dignity:—
[ W. B. S. ]