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The passepied (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for passing feet; ) is a 17th- and 18th-century dance that originated in Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
. The term can also used to describe the music to which a passepied is set. The music is an example of a dance movement in Baroque music
Baroque music

Baroque music describes a period or style of European classical music approximately extending from Dates of classical music eras. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance music and was followed by the Classical music era....
 and is almost always a movement in binary form
Binary form

Binary form is a way of structuring a piece of music in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance....
 with a fast tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
 and a time signature
Time signature

The time signature is a notational convention used in Western culture musical notation to specify how many beat s are in each bar and what note value constitutes one beat....
 of three quavers (or eighth notes) per bar, each section beginning with an upbeat of a single quaver.






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The passepied (French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 for passing feet; ) is a 17th- and 18th-century dance that originated in Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
. The term can also used to describe the music to which a passepied is set. The music is an example of a dance movement in Baroque music
Baroque music

Baroque music describes a period or style of European classical music approximately extending from Dates of classical music eras. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance music and was followed by the Classical music era....
 and is almost always a movement in binary form
Binary form

Binary form is a way of structuring a piece of music in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance....
 with a fast tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
 and a time signature
Time signature

The time signature is a notational convention used in Western culture musical notation to specify how many beat s are in each bar and what note value constitutes one beat....
 of three quavers (or eighth notes) per bar, each section beginning with an upbeat of a single quaver. Passepieds occasionally appear in suite
Suite

In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet, or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements ....
s such as Handel
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was an England Baroque music composer of Germany birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerto grosso. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England....
's Water Music
Water Music

Water Music may refer to*Water Music , orchestral suites by George Frideric Handel*Water Music , a novel by T.C. Boyle*Water Music , a novel by Melanie Kershaw...
 (Suite No. 1 in F) or J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organ whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque music period and brought it to its ultimate maturity....
's Overture in the French Style for harpsichord where there are two Passepieds in minor and major keys respectively, to be played alternativement in the order I, II, I.

Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes

Cl?ment Philibert L?o Delibes was a French composer of ballets, French opera, and other works for the stage....
 also wrote a passepied as part of his incidental music for the play Le roi s'amuse
Le roi s'amuse

Le roi s'amuse is a play written by Victor Hugo in 1832. While it depicts the escapades of Francis I of France, censors of the time believed that it also contained insulting references to King Louis-Philippe and banned it after one performance....
 by Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a France poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romanticism movement in France....
. A more modern example is the fourth and final movement of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy

Achille-Claude Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he is considered one of the most prominent figures working within the field of Impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions....
's Suite bergamasque
Suite bergamasque

The Suite bergamasque is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. It was likely named after Paul Verlaine poem "Clair de lune", which possibly alludes to a bergamask....
 for piano, entitled Passepied.

In English, passepied has also been referred to as "paspy" (a phonetic approximation of the French pronunciation). However, this spelling is rarely used in modern times.