Furiant

A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech composers such as Antonín Dvořák in the first and eighth dances from his Slavonic Dances, Piano Quintet Op. 81 and 6th Symphony; in his Czech Suite, fifth movement; in his Terzetto for Two Violins and Viola, third movement; and by Bedřich Smetana in The Bartered Bride and in his second volume for piano of Czech Dances (České tance 2), published in 1879 (Op. 21). It was also used by Brahms in the middle section of the second movement of his Sextet No. 2 in G Major.

The use of the furiant by central European composers closely parallels their use of the dumka, a dance which often precedes the furiant.