Sarabande
for flute, Bb clarinet, violin, cello, harpsichord, and vibraphone
As part of Continuum’s dance suite project, I was invited to compose a piece based on the ‘sarabande’. I have always loved the Baroque dance suite form, and my love of slow music drew me in particular to the sarabandes. In university, I played harpsichord, and worked on many such suites by Louis and Francois Couperin, Lully and Rameau, among others. I also took a course in Baroque dance, which gave me an understanding of the rhythmic life of the suites. While there is no specific reference to Baroque style in my piece, I explored the feeling of a sarabande, its particular lilt in 3/4 time (with departures into 3/8 and 4/4); in the end, the work became its own kind of slow dance.