Tarantella
A southern Italian dance in 6/8 time.
What it means
The tarantella is a southern Italian folk dance in six-eight or three-eight time, named after the city of Taranto. It is a very fast, whirling dance with a continuous, sweeping rhythm.
A widespread legend is connected with the name: the dance was said to be a remedy against the bite of the tarantula, whose venom was supposedly sweated out through hours of vigorous dancing. This tradition is part of folk culture and is not to be understood as fact; it does, however, explain the dance's reputation as especially wild and unstoppable.
Characteristic are a very fast tempo, running eighths in groups of three, frequently in minor, and an intensification toward the end. It differs from the saltarello, another Italian dance in compound metre, through its more evenly flowing movement.
In the notation
The tarantella stands in six-eight time, recognizable by the beaming in groups of three. The movement runs through long stretches in even eighths. The form is often divided into sections that intensify in tempo or density.
Musical use
As a folk dance the tarantella is alive in southern Italy to this day. In the nineteenth century it became a popular virtuoso piece in piano and violin literature and appears in symphonies and chamber music as a finale of great vitality.
The tarantella comes from southern Italy and was connected with the bite of the tarantula: whoever was bitten was supposed to be healed by wild dancing. Musically it stands in fast six-eight time with even eighths and often intensifies right up to the close. Chopin, Liszt, and Rossini wrote well-known tarantellas. Into the finale of Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, a saltarello, tarantella-like sections are woven. It mostly stands in minor.
Performance practice
Keep the tempo fast and the groups of three even. Accent the first eighth of each group lightly, so that the dance does not fall apart into a uniform movement. Plan the intensification toward the close and hold reserve for it. And take care that the movement stays clear despite the tempo.