In the 17th century, the lute, the popular instrument of the court and the home for so many years, even centuries, suddenly found its rival in the little keyboard instrument called the _spinet_ and _virginal_ in England, and the _clavecin_ in France. In Italy and France, as in England, there were famous performers and composers for these instruments, and many volumes of charming music were written for it. DANCE TUNES GROW UP INTO SUITES One of the first requirements of art works of all kinds is contrast. The line and the curve are found in primitive art, light must have shadow, one wing of a building must have another to balance it, and a slow serious piece of music is usually followed by a gay one for contrast. The Arabs understood this law of contrast, for in their ancient songs we find the seed of a form that has been most important in the growth of music. They made little suites by putting two, three, four or more songs together; each song had its mode, and one would be slow and sad, and the next fast and gay. The principal music of the 17th century was the Suite, a group of pieces which had grown out of the old folk dances. (Chapter IX.) The 17th century composers, like the Arabs, feeling the need of contrast, strung several of these dances together to form the Suite. So Suites were written for clavecins and harpsichords, for violins alone and for organs, for groups of stringed instruments and other chamber music combinations. Some of these dances were in duple time, some in triple; some were slow and some were fast; some were stately and some gay. The different pieces forming a suite, had to be written in the same key. These suites were known by different names in different countries, such as _partitas_, _exercises_, _lessons_, _sonate da camera_, _ordres_. In England the name _suite_ was given to this form, then the Germans adopted it, and later the great Bach wrote suites which he also called _partitas_. In Italy, the suite was called _sonata da camera_ (chamber sonata) and _sonata da chiesa_ (church sonata) and out of all this have grown the very important sonata, symphony and chamber music quartet, trio, quintet, etc. Here are some of the dance forms used in the suite: Allemande (duple time or measure: moderately slow), Sarabande (triple time: slow, stately), Loure (duple time: slow), Gavotte (duple time: moderately fast), Musette (duple time: moderately fast), Bourrée (duple time: a little faster than the Gavotte), Minuet (triple time: moderately fast), Passepied (triple time: a fast minuet), Rigaudon (duple time: slower than the Bourrée), Tambourin (duple time: fast), Pavan (duple time: rather slow), Courante, Corrente (triple time: fast), Chaconne (triple time: moderately fast), Passacaglia (like Chaconne, but more stately) and Gigue (sometimes duple and sometimes triple time: very fast: almost always the last movement of a suite).