saraband

[ sar-uh-band ]

/ ˈsær əˌbænd /

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noun

a slow, stately Spanish dance, especially of the 17th and 18th centuries, in triple meter, derived from a vigorous castanet dance.

a piece of music for or using the rhythm of this dance, usually forming one of the movements in the classical suite and following the courante.

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Origin of saraband

1610–20; <French sarabande<Spanish zarabanda, perhaps <Arabic sarband a kind of dance <Persian

In his ears the hum of insects still sounded, and to his unheeding eyes the stars danced their saraband.
A Transient Guest|Edgar Saltus
Somewhere there was a moon, for scurrying clouds were dancing a witches' saraband across a faintly clearer sky.
Messengers of Evil|Pierre Souvestre
The King then approached Julian, and desired him to take his instrument, and cause his female companion to perform a saraband.
Peveril of the Peak|Sir Walter Scott
Of distant climes the false report It lured me from my native land; It bade me rove—my sole support My cymbals and my saraband.
The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White|Henry Kirke White

Somber figures danced in a saraband of shadows to a yearning melody of Tschaikovsky.
Carnival|Compton Mackenzie