Everything about The Pavane totally explained
The
pavane, pavan, paven, pavin, pavian, pavine, or pavyn (It.
pavana,
padovana; Ger.
Paduana) is a slow processional
dance common in Europe during the
16th century (
Renaissance).
Origin of term
The origin of this term isn't known. Possibilities include
the word being from Pava, a dialect form of Padua (in Italian, both
pavana and
padoano are adjectives meaning "of Padua") (Brown 2001); a descendant of the
Sanskrit word meaning wind; 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, and
Italy. The musical pavane survived hundreds of years after the dance itself was abandoned, especially in the form of the
tombeau. At Louis XIV's court the pavane was superseded by the
courante.
Music
- Slow duple metre (Double Time 2/4)
- Generally follows the form of A,A1, B,B1, C,C1.
- It generally uses counterpoint or homophonic accompaniment.
- Often accompanied by a tabor, according to Arbeau 1967, 59–64) in a rhythmic pattern of minim-crotchet-crotchet (1/2-1/4-1/4) or similar, and this was generally followed with little variation by the melody; there were rarely minims in the centre of the bar, for example.
- This dance was generally paired with the Galliard
Dance
In
Thoinot Arbeau's French dance manual, it's generally a dance for many couples in procession, with the dancers sometimes throwing in ornamentation (divisions) of the steps (Arbeau 1967, 59–66). In the
English Measures manuscripts, the
pavane is one of several similar dances classed as
measures; danced by a line of couples, it's simple and choreographed. In Italian sources, the
pavane is often a fairly complicated dance for one couple, with
galliard and other sections.
Modern use
The step used in the
pavane survives to the modern day in the
hesitation step sometimes used in weddings.
More recent works titled "pavane" often have a deliberately archaic mood. Examples include:
"Pavane: She's So Fine" (1994) from John's Book of Alleged Dances by John Coolidge Adams
The classical composition Pavane (1887) by Gabriel Fauré. (This is a modern version of the Renaissance version.)
The classical composition Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899) by Maurice Ravel
The choreography The Moor’s Pavane (1949) by José Limón
The title of Keith Roberts' novel Pavane (1968) is an allusion to the dance of the same name and is divided into measures and a coda.
Sources
Arbeau, Thoinot. 1967. Orchesography. Translated by Mary Stewart Evans. With a new introd. and notes by Julia Sutton and a new Labanotation section by Mireille Backer and Julia Sutton. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-21745-0
Brown, Alan. 2001. "Pavan". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
Sachs, Curt. 1937. World History of the Dance. Translated by Bessie Schönberg. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pavane'.
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