gigue

[French, probably from JIG¹.]

For more information on gigue, visit Britannica.com.

(Fr. : ‘jig’; It. giga)

(1) A popular Baroque dance and a standard movement of the suite. It apparently originated in the British Isles. By the end of the 17th century two distinct styles had emerged: the French gigue, in a moderate or fast tempo (6/4, 3/8 or 6/8) with irregular phrases and imitative texture; and the Italian giga, a faster dance in 12/8 metre with regular four-bar phrases and homophonic texture. Bach wrote examples of both types, as well as other gigues which are difficult to classify; Handel's are mostly of the Italian type.

(2) Medieval French name for a bowed string instrument, related to the German Geige.

A spirited dance in 6/8 or 12/8 time, popular in France in the early 1700s. Somewhat similar to the Irish jig.

The gigue (French pronunciation: [ʒiɡ]) or giga (Italian: [ˈdʒiːɡa]) is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century ^[1] and usually appears at the end of a suite.

The Gigue is lively Baroque dance originating from the British jig. It is usually in 3/8 or in one of its compound metre derivatives, such as 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16, although there are some gigues written in other meters (for example, the gigue from Bach's first French Suite (BWV 812), which is written in 4/4). They often have a contrapuntal texture. It often has accents on the third beats in the bar, making the Gigue a lively folk dance. Composers known to have famously used the Gigue include Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Etymology

In the 12th century a small violin was called a gigue. One of the dances that was played with the violin soon got this name.

See also

• Jig (folk dance)
• Loure (slow gigue)

References

1. ^ Bellingham, Jane, "gigue." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online. 6 Jul. 2008 [1]

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