Allemande

Baroque works

Definition

A moderate-tempo Baroque dance in common time (4/4), typically with a flowing sixteenth-note texture and a short upbeat. In the keyboard suite it is the opening dance. In the early Classical and Romantic periods the term was applied to German-style social dances in duple or triple meter.

Historical Context

The allemande originated as a German dance in the Renaissance and became the first standard movement of the Baroque keyboard suite. Froberger, Bach, and Handel all wrote celebrated examples. By Weber's time the term referred to a stylised German dance in moderate duple meter — his 12 Allemandes, Op. 4 are salon pieces rather than Baroque suite movements.

Works (30)

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