Pavane
Encyclopedia
The pavane, pavan, paven, pavin, pavian, pavine, or pavyn (It. pavana, padovana; Ger. Paduana) is a slow processional dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

).

A pavane is a slow piece of music which is danced to in pairs.

Origin of term

The origin of this term is not known. Possibilities include
the word being
  • from Italian "[danza] Padovana", meaning "[dance] typical of Padua" (as in Bergamask
    Bergamask
    Bergamask, bergomask, bergamesca, or bergamasca , is dance and associated melody and chord progression. It was considered a clumsy rustic dance Bergamask, bergomask, bergamesca, or bergamasca (from the town of Bergamo in Northern Italy), is dance and associated melody and chord progression. It was...

    ); this is consistent with the equivalent form, "Paduana",
  • or from the Spanish pavón meaning peacock (Sachs 1937, 356),

though the dance was "almost certainly of Italian origin" (Brown 2001).

History

The decorous sweep of the pavane suited the new more sober Spanish-influenced courtly manners of 16th century Italy. It appears in dance manuals in England, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

The pavane as a musical form survived long after the dance itself was abandoned, and well into the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 period, when it finally gave way to the more recent allemande
Allemande
An allemande is one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite...

/courante
Courante
The courante, corrente, coranto and corant are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era....

 sequence (Apel 1988, 259ff).

Music

  • Slow duple metre (Double Time 2/2).
  • Generally follows the form of A,A1, B,B1, C,C1.
  • It generally uses counterpoint
    Counterpoint
    In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

     or homophonic accompaniment.
  • Often accompanied by a tabor
    Tabor (instrument)
    Tabor, or tabret, refers to a portable snare drum played with one hand. The word "tabor" is simply an English variant of a Latin-derived word meaning "drum" - cf. tambour , tamburo...

     according to Arbeau (1967, 59–64) in a rhythmic pattern of minim
    Half note
    In music, a half note or minim is a note played for half the duration of a whole note and twice the duration of a quarter note...

    -crotchet
    Quarter note
    A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...

    -crotchet
    Quarter note
    A quarter note or crotchet is a note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note . Often people will say that a crotchet is one beat, however, this is not always correct, as the beat is indicated by the time signature of the music; a quarter note may or may not be the beat...

     (1/2-1/4-1/4) or similar.
  • This dance was generally paired with the Galliard
    Galliard
    The galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, among others....

    .

Dance

In Thoinot Arbeau
Thoinot Arbeau
Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot . Tabourot is most famous for his Orchésographie, a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance...

's French dance manual, it is generally a dance for many couples in procession, with the dancers sometimes throwing in ornamentation (divisions) of the steps (Arbeau 1967, 59–66).

Modern use

The step used in the pavane survives to the modern day in the hesitation step
Hesitation step
The term hesitation step refers to a ceremonial form of walking. It is typically used during the entrance to a religious ceremony.The walk consists of stepping forward, pausing, rocking back on the back leg, then proceeding to the next step forward...

sometimes used in weddings.

More recent works titled "pavane" often have a deliberately archaic mood. Examples include:
  • The classical composition Pavane
    Pavane (Fauré)
    The Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50, is a composition by the French composer Gabriel Fauré, written in 1887. It was originally a piano piece, but is better known in Fauré's version for orchestra and optional chorus...

    (1887) by Gabriel Fauré
    Gabriel Fauré
    Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...

    . (This is a modern version of the Renaissance version.)

  • The classical composition Pavane pour une infante défunte
    Pavane pour une infante défunte
    Pavane pour une infante défunte is a well-known piece written for solo piano by the French composer Maurice Ravel in 1899 when he was studying composition at the Conservatoire de Paris under Gabriel Fauré. Ravel also published an orchestrated version of the Pavane in 1910...

    (1899) by Maurice Ravel
    Maurice Ravel
    Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

  • "Pavane, the Girl with the Flaxen Hair," a dramatic script written and directed by Wyllis Cooper
    Wyllis Cooper
    Wyllis Oswald Cooper was an American writer and producer.He is best remembered for creating and writing the old time radio programs Lights Out and Quiet, Please -Biography:...

    , inspired in part by Ravel's composition, for the old-time radio series Quiet Please. (1947)
  • The classical composition "Pavane: She's So Fine" (1994) from John's Book of Alleged Dances
    John's Book of Alleged Dances
    John's Book of Alleged Dances is a composition by John Coolidge Adams for string quartet and recorded prepared piano. The first performance took place November 19, 1994, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California. The work was commissioned and premiered by the Kronos Quartet...

    by John Coolidge Adams
  • The choreography The Moor’s Pavane (1949) by José Limón
    José Limón
    José Arcadio Limón was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. In 1928, at age 20, he moved to New York City where he studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. In 1946, Limón founded the José Limón Dance Company...

  • The title of a song from Verehrt und Angespien
    Verehrt und Angespien
    Verehrt und Angespien is the second folk metal album by the German band In Extremo. It was released in 1999 by Mercury Records.-Track listing:# "Merseburger Zaubersprüche" – 4:27...

    , the second studio album of the folk metal band In Extremo
    In Extremo
    In Extremo is a German medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments...

  • An instrumental entitled "Pavanne for the Sleeping Beauty" [sic] by Joe Walsh
    Joe Walsh
    Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...

     on his album So What
  • The fourth movement of the suite "The Fall of the House of Usher" from the progressive rock album Tales of Mystery and Imagination
    Tales of Mystery and Imagination
    Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the debut album by the progressive rock group The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1976. The album's avant-garde soundscapes kept it from being a blockbuster, but the interesting lyrical and musical themes — retellings of horror stories and poetry by...

     by The Alan Parsons Project
    The Alan Parsons Project
    The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....

     (1976)
  • The song Pavane
    The Jethro Tull Christmas Album
    The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull, on September 30, 2003 . The songs are a mix of new material, re-recordings of Tull's own suitably themed material and arrangements of traditional Christmas music...

    from the progressive rock album The Jethro Tull Christmas Album
    The Jethro Tull Christmas Album
    The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull, on September 30, 2003 . The songs are a mix of new material, re-recordings of Tull's own suitably themed material and arrangements of traditional Christmas music...

     by Jethro Tull
    Jethro Tull (band)
    Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

  • The song Pavan
    Evensong (album)
    Evensong was the second album released by the band Amazing Blondel. It featured the style of music which they described as "pseudo-Elizabethan/Classical acoustic music sung with British accents"....

    from the progressive folk album Evensong
    Evensong (album)
    Evensong was the second album released by the band Amazing Blondel. It featured the style of music which they described as "pseudo-Elizabethan/Classical acoustic music sung with British accents"....

     by Amazing Blondel
    Amazing Blondel
    Amazing Blondel are an English acoustic progressive folk band, consisting of Eddie Baird, John Gladwin, and Terry Wincott. They released a number of LPs for Island Records in the early 1970s...

    .
  • The title of a song from Water Forest
    Water Forest
    "Water Forest" is Japanese singer-songwriter Rurutia's 2nd album under the Toshiba EMI label. The album reached to #226 on Oricon and charted for a week.-Track listing:# # # # # # # # # #...

     an album by Rurutia
    Rurutia
    Rurutia is a Japanese singer/songwriter. She began her career in 2001 with the release of 'Itoshigo yo' when she was signed to Toshiba-EMI. She is currently signed to Phoenix Records as of mid-2005 and has released a total of 5 regular albums and 10 singles thus far...

    .
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