courante

French era

Definition

A lively Baroque dance — the Italian Corrente is fast and in simple triple metre; the French Courante is more complex, shifting between 6/4 and 3/2.

Interpretive Guidance

The second dance of a traditional Baroque suite. The Italian corrente is straightforwardly fast; the French courante's metric ambiguity (hemiola between 6/4 and 3/2) is its defining characteristic.

Context

Scope Baroque era term
Era Baroque
Language French

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