Courante
Baroque dance in triple metre; a fixed movement of the suite following the allemande.
What it means
The courante is a dance movement in triple metre that formed a standard part of the instrumental suite during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Its name comes from the French courir (to run), reflecting the flowing, striding motion of the underlying dance.
Two distinct types developed: the French courante, with its complex, often ambiguous metre hovering between 3/2 and 6/4, and the Italian corrente, faster and rhythmically more straightforward in 3/4 or 3/8. Both forms frequently appear side by side in Baroque repertoire.
Musical use
In the classic suite order the courante comes second, after the measured allemande and before the slow sarabande. This shift from a held to a moving tempo shapes the dramatic arc of the suite, as in Johann Sebastian Bach's English and French Suites and his solo cello suites.
The French courante is marked by an intricate rhythmic ambiguity, shifting duple and triple groupings against each other, lending it a weightless, sometimes melancholic character. The Italian corrente, by contrast, feels more cheerful and direct.
Performance practice
In the French courante it is worth bringing out its metric ambiguity rather than forcing it into a rigid triple pattern. The corrente, on the other hand, calls for a clear, even pulse and can be played with real virtuosic drive.