thumb|Allemande, from a dancing manual of

An allemande (, "German (dance)"; also allemanda, almain(e), or alman(d)) is a Renaissance and Baroque dance, and one of the most common instrumental dance styles in Baroque music, with examples by Couperin, Purcell, Bach and Handel. It is often the first movement of a Baroque suite of dances, paired with a subsequent courante, though it is sometimes preceded by an introduction or prelude. Along with the waltz and ländler, the allemande was sometimes referred to by the generic term German Dance in publications during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

A quite different, later, Allemande, named as such in the time of Mozart and Beethoven, still survives in Germany and Switzerland and is a lively triple-time social dance related to the waltz and the Ländler.

The name "Allemande" comes from the name of Germany in French.

History

thumb|Allemande [[rhythm.]]

The allemande originated in the 16th century as a duple metre dance of moderate tempo, already considered very old, with a characteristic "double-knocking" upbeat It appears to have derived from a German dance but no identifiable dance and no German dance instructions from this era survive.

The 16th-century French dancing master Thoinot Arbeau and the British Inns of Court therefore preserve the first records of the allemande, in which dancers formed a line of couples who took hands and walked the length of the room, walking three steps then balancing on one foot. A livelier version, the allemande courante, used three springing steps and a hop. Elizabethan British composers wrote many "Almans" as separate pieces.

References

Sources

  • .
  • Video - Renaissance allemande danced in costume
  • Video - "The Queens Almaine"; Renaissance allemande with music composed by William Byrd.
  • Video - Baroque allemande, one pair (Pecour 1702)
  • Video - Allemand - The Elegance of Baroque Social Dance
  • Music Video - J.S. Bach - Allemande from the fourth French Suite. Harpsichord - Jean Rondeau.