habanera

views updated May 11 2018

habanera (Fr. havanaise). Slow Cuban (orig. African) song and dance (Habana = Havana), which became very popular in Sp. It is in simple duple time and dotted rhythm. Famous examples are the habanera in Bizet's opera Carmen (‘L'Amour est un oiseau rebelle’) which is an adaptation of a popular song by Yradier, and the Habanera for 2 pfs. by Ravel, later incorporated in his Rapsodie espagnole for orch.

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