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 is not 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^{[citation needed]}; 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 At Louis XIV's court the pavane was superseded by the courante.^{[citation needed]}

Music

• Slow double time
• 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^{[citation needed]}; there were rarely minims in the centre of the bar, for example.^{[citation needed]}
• This dance was generally paired with the Galliard

Dance

In Thoinot Arbeau's French dance manual, it is 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 is simple and choreographed.^{[citation needed]} In Italian sources, the pavane is often a fairly complicated dance for one couple, with galliard and other sections.^{[citation needed]}

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.