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Gigue

The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance, usually in a compound metre such as 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16. It is rare for one to be written in a simple metre such as 3/8, but some do exist, as do even some written in 4/4. They often have a contrapuntal texture.

As a musical form, gigues frequently occur as movements in binary form in larger works such as concertos and sonatas. It was the most common final movement in a baroque suite.

See also

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