Canarie

What it means

The canarie is a fast dance movement in triple or compound meter, usually notated in 3/8 or 6/8 time, occasionally in 3/4. Its name is traditionally linked to a dance thought in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to have come from the Canary Islands, though this origin is not firmly established.

Musically, the canarie is difficult to distinguish from the gigue: both share a brisk tempo, compound meter, and a leaping, dotted rhythmic profile. The canarie typically opens with a short upbeat and a distinctive dotted figure that runs through the whole movement.

Musical use

As a movement in its own right, the canarie appears mainly in French and German instrumental suites of the seventeenth century, usually among the optional additional dances following the core sequence of allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue. It occurs less often than these four, and is sometimes placed instead of the gigue or alongside it, since both share the character of a fast closing movement.

The canarie is distinguished from the gigue mainly by name rather than sound: where a suite includes both, they often differ only in fine points of rhythm or in the title itself. From the sarabande, the slow, weighty movement of the suite, the canarie is clearly set apart by its rapid tempo and light, dance-like motion.

Performance practice

Play the dotted figures of the canarie crisply and cleanly rather than smoothed over; the movement's effect depends on its leaping rhythm. Keep the tempo light and dance-like throughout without rushing, and mark the strong beat of each bar clearly so the triple grouping remains audible.