Folder A

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:Novacttpaper. (]Janas present in
jIttaingnant Coffections/Iona[
Structure ana d'esign
1. Dances presen-t in the Attaingnant collections
2. Tonal structure and design
1
The historic significance of the ten collections
of
dance music issued in France by Pierre Attaingnant during
the years 1529 to 1557 has for the most part been ignored
by historians.
Much attention has been given to the rhythmic
features of the varied dances, with many solutions and
disagreements resulting.
However, the tonal unity of the
compositions coupled with the design and phrase length,
2
perhaps the most significant features, is rarely discussed.
It is known that Pierre Attaingnant was the most
important Parisian music publisher during the reign of King
Francis I in the first half of the sixteenth century, but
his origins are not clear.
A business contract naming him
appears in Paris dated 1514, while his first publication,
a Breviarium, is dated 1525.
Attaingnant was the first
printer in Paris to successfully print rnensural notation
from type.
His success was rewarded in 1537, when he
became an "imprimeur et libraire du roy," a priviledge
similar to present day copyright and which allowed him the
3
honor of being the King's Printer.
The exact date of his
death has not been determined, but it is known that he died
sometime between late 1551 and 1553.
Of Attain-;rnant' s 174 publications, ten include instru­
mental dance compositions numbering over 400 dances, which
vary in both genre and form.
At present, only the initial
::J.
~_tz
16
17
20
1-- 28
ITS
1164
110)
'171
172
l73
#
Ti tIe (abbreviated)
date
Dixhuit basses dances ... avec
dixneuf Branles ...
1529,Feb.
edi tor
1
14 pieces,
P.B.-Pierre
Blondeau
Six gaillardes et six pavanes .•. 1530,Apr.
17
medium
notation
solo lute
Fr. lute
tablature
instr.
ensemble
a/4
LaSK.:Ln
modern edi tion
Heartz, Pr., Ch., & I
complete, 28 pieces,
Br~Ser, zwei ~. drei
mensurar-~resbe'rt~'Pariser
.'
not.
Tanzbuch, complete
Ne uf bas se s dan ces de u-x---;b-r-an-::l-e-s-.-.-.--::;l:-;:5:;-:3~0;:;------------in str--.---mens ur ar­ 'Gre-sbert~-'P'arise[---'~
Tanzbuch, complete
ens. a/4, not.
#1 a/5
#29 a/6
QUcltor ze Gai rlaid'0--s-n-e-u-'-"f-~---""lM5""'3""""1-------------s
oro ---k'--e-y150ara
BernouIrI-,-Chansons­
Pavanes. . .
keyboard
score
und T~nze, complete
facs. ed/ Heartz,
Keyboard Dances, camp
-.." ._-_
_.
reprlnt of #2n-rlot liscea 1n Heartz, but 1lstea 1n Bro~:tnstrumentar-MuSl-c---'--"-'--'Printed Before 1600.
1538
Second Ti\rre' con tenanl.--:Cro1s
15"4.--.7-----­ insTr-:-e-ns-.-·'men..s-:----Meylari-·~-- danse ri'e-s'~'--Gaillardes.. .
a/4, #50
not.
campI. E;~p2rt,
a/5
Danseries XXII,
._~
.=::19 pieces.
Quart Ilvre-d~dancerles...
1550, Aug Claude
instr. ens. mens.
Exper:t:-"Danse-iTes xxm
Gervaise
19
a/4,#2,3,6" not.
4 pieces.
CTnquiesme livre a,e-aancerfe-s::-:-:rS-S0 ,Aug .--Claude
28
Gervaise
155'-:::5:-,-O::--c~CIaude
Sixieme li vrede~danceries...
2
Gervaise
1557, Jan. Claud-e
Troisieme livre de-danceries ...
17
Gervaise
E'stlel1"iie
SeptD9me ~ivre de danceries...
r5S7
du Tartre
tIj
~
OJ
S
"0
~
CD
~
,
-r~'i{I .·~~~-s-:-men-s.
E'x'p~rt':-'Danse'~ieS--xxm
a/4
not.
8 pieces.
u:istr. ens. mens.
Exi:)e-it~DanserresXXn
a/4, #3 a/5 net.
16 pieces.
inst-r-.-erls':-/if '-irie-ns-.-E·xp-ert~--Dariseries--xxn:
#1,3 a/5
not.
11 pieces.
ii1-str:-ens-.--me-ns.
Ex;,6-e-:rt; -Danse-rfes-;-XXU:
a/4, #3 & 6 not.
4 pieces
a/5
-
3 ­
five publications have complete modern transcriptions
(example 1),
while the final five have certain selections transcribed.
These
modern transcriptions, listed in example 1, offer scholarly
interpretations of the different dance types.
4
Attaingnant's publications of 1530, 1530, 1531, and 1547
avoid any designation of an arranger or editor, while the 1529
publication prints the initials P.B. after fourteen compositions,
5
perhaps referring to an arranger, Pierre Blondeau.
Although
i t is possible that Attaingnant may have arranged some of the
selections, he never affixed his initials to a composition.
'This may point to an opposite conclusion, that Attaingnant did
none of the arranging and relied on the work done by others.
The later publications of 1550, 1550, 1555 and 1557 list Claude
Gervaise as the arranger, with Estienne du Tertre arranging
the publication of 1557.
The comp03itions in each of the ten collections are com­
posed for unspecified instrumental ensemble, except for the
1529 issue for solo lute and the 1531 issue for solo keyboard.
These two publications show innovative compositional techniques,
and will be discussed in detail in the following section. The
final three plililications of 1555, 1557 and 1557 were published
by Attaingnant I s wife after his death.
The dances found in the ten publications include the basse
dance, pavane, gaillarde, allemande ana many varieties of branles.
These dances aJ:e usually Superius oriented, with chordal accompani­
- 4 ­
rnent in the lower parts.
Were it not for the existence of cixteenth century dance
treatises, little would be known about both the manner of
dancing and its correlation to the accompanying music.
Perhaps
the most helpful of the treatises is Orchesographie, by Thoinot
6
Arbeau in 1589
(Jehan Tabourot),
who gave detailed descriptions
of the manner of dance and included the accompanying melodies
in mensural notation.
However, there is no existing evidence
for the fi fteen th century dances, although some can tus_ firmus
basse dance tenors may be found in "Li \"re de Basses danses de
-la Bibliotheque de Bourgogne," 1450 (author unknown)
and "Lark
et Instruction de bien Danser," 1486, printed in Paris by
Michel Toulouze (author unknown).
It is usually assumed that medieval dances had improvised
instrumental parts above a cantus firmus tenor, but iconography
must provide the answers for the manner of instrumental
accompaniment.
Extant paintings show that the fifteenth century
instrumental ensembles accompanying the dancers did not play
.If-
from music, which might point to improvisation. The existence
of a limited number of cantus firmus tenors in dance manuals,
with no upper parts to be found, might also point to the upper
parts being improvised.
Since there are few existing polyphonic
basse dance compositions from the fifteenth century, dance music
may well have been a well guarded secr8t of the guild, meant
8
only for
prof(~ssional
musicians, and no': for the amateur.
-
5 ­
The rhythm of the basse dance has been a highly contro­
versial issue among the historians, possibly the result of
misinterpretations of the dance manuals.
Arbeau states that
all basses dances are in triple meter, although Attaingnant
notated his basses dances in duple meter.
To add to the
9
confusion, another treatise by Antonius Arena,
~~
Compagnones.,
reveals that each longa should have four semibreves, which
10
Friedrich Blume
interprets as meaning that the basse dance
should be in duple meter.
Perhaps Blume did not take into
.consideration the fact that only the breve was imperfected,
not the longa.
are notated in
Arbeau warns his readers that all basses dances
tempu~
imperfectum, but that this should not
dictate the meter of the basse dance, which is always in triple
meter.
While most modern editors have notated the basse dance
in triple meter following Arbeau's sugg8stion, Robert Meylan
in his edition of Second livre contenant trois Gaillardes .. ,
1547, reasons tllat since hemiola is constantly present, binary
not.a·tion is more sui table to the rhythmic complexi ties.
Meylan
discusses the possibility of Attaingnant having arrived at a
similar conclusion, and thus also no·tatGd the dances in duple
meter.
Meylan uses three types of bar l.ines; a large bar
through all the staves to represent the quaternion,
(the
choreographic figure), a small bar to separate the ternary
groups, and a dotted bar between the staves to indicate the
-
Example 2.
6 ­
- 7 ­
binary notation.
The methods of Attaingnant, Arbeau and Meylan
are compared iT' example 2.
Although Arbeau claimed that the basse dance was losing
popularity in the early sixteenth century, the first five
Attaingnant publications including 1547 have many examples
of basses dances.
The last five publications, however, have
no examples of the dance, showing that the basse dance lost
popularity in the mid-sixteenth century.
The sixteenth century basse dance is a ceremonial dance
with low, gliding steps from which i t derives its name.
Prior
<to 1500 the dance was based on a tenor of unspecified length,
the total nurrber of dance steps equalling the total number of
longa in the cantus firmus.
were improvised.
Above the tenor the upper parts
This is not the style of the Attaingnant
basses dances, which have the melody in the Superius, often
borrowed frore a chanson for which the dance was named; they
completely disregard the fifteenth century cantus firmus
technique.
This new form of the basse dance was the "Basse
dance Commune," and had a set of twenty choreographic steps.
These steps were danced to an existing chanson, rhythmically
distorted to fit the dance.
The basse dance consists of
hlO
sections, A and B, and
often uses da capo structure to attain the required length
11
. This
of 20 longa. One suggested pattern is II A I: B I A
4L 2L 4L
- 8 ­
Example 3.
Basse dance 9 ,.Die Biirste" (La
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- 9 ­
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- 10 ­
12
framework may be seen in example 3,
bas se dance "La brosse"
from Neuf basses dances duex branles, 1530, for unspecified
instrumental ensemble, with the modification that the maxima
is the unit of time instead of the longa.
The choreographic
units are indicated on the musical example.
This basse dance
is one of the few printed by Attaingnant that is undeniably
in dup Ie meter.
Other possible variations of" thebasse dance
are I!:A :i\: B:U
2L 4L
B
ing
G~e
A
2L
4L
A and
2L
li·A
t
4L
B:U
4L
A (example 4).
4L
Follow­
20 longa pattern of the basse dance, a 12 longa section
knm'Jn as the moi te, retour, residu or reprise concludes the
dance.
Often the Attaingnant basses dances have new design
material accompanying this section.
Many of elese dances
conclude with a Tourdion, a type of gaillarde.
This three
"movement" grouping may be viewed as an early forerunner of
the Baroque dance suite.
Possible tonal implications of the
three sections will be discussed in the following section.
The branle, a chain dance of the
s~xteenth
century, is
found in all but the publications of 1531 and A'.lgust 19, 1550,
both of which were devoted entirely to the pavane and gaillarde.
The branle must have become quite popular during the middle
of the century, Nhich may be evidenced
numbers of branles found in the latter
lD
the increasing
Attaingnant collections;
Cinquiesrne livre de danceries, 1550, is a collection of 53
varied types of branles.
The publicat.':'ons .that follm.7 1550
-
11 ­
Example 5.
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- 12 ­
include many branles among their dances.
dances, 1529,
~as
the first existing
Dixhuit basses
ex~mples
of branles,
while Septieme livre de danceries, 1557, the final
Attaingnant dance publication, arranges the groups of
branles into "suyttes," again showing a predilection to
tu..I;;:...-..I~l:'0~
e grouping of dance movements
Unfortunately,
tonal implications of the various "movements" of these
suyttes cannot be determined at this point, since there
are no modern editions of these dances presently available.
The name branle is derived from the French vlOrd branle,
-to swing from side to side, since the steps of the dance
13
alternate from right to left.
The dance itself is
found in many varieties. The Attaingnant collections
include the Branle d'Ecosse, Branle de Poictou, branle gay,
branle simple, branle double, Branle de Bourgogne, Branle
de Champaigne and the branle courant.
Arbeau describes no
fewer than twenty-five variations of the branle in
Orchesographie.
Each of these varieties are usually found
in two or three sections.
The branle simple, most popular in the early Attaingnant
collections, is a slow dance in duple meter incorporating
three measure phrases.
The distinct three measure phrasing
may be seen in a branle simple from Neuf basses dances deux
14
----­
branles, 1530 (example 5).
The melody of this branle is
- 13 ­
Example 6.
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- 14 ­
found in the Superi us, the lower three parts chordally snpport­
ing the me lody .
The branle double, a solemn dance in duple meter with
four measure phrases, is not found with ele frequency of the
branle simple in the Attaingnant collections.
Arbeau explains
that the branle simple and double are danced to a slow tempo,
while the other branle are often danced quickly.
"The varieties
of branle is determined by the three different groups taking
part in a dance; the elderly who dance the double and the simple
sedately, the young married folk who dance the gay branle and
15
. the youngest of all •.. Y;ho nimbly trip the branles of Burgandy."
The branle haulbe rroys, \.lhich is included only in the Dixhui t
basses dances, 1529, is a variation of the branle double; the
music is identical, with the dance variance being the use of
the arms and shoulders.
The branle gay, a fast, lively dance in triple meter set
to a slow musical accompaniment (t.he step is to the minim), is
found in all but Six gaillardes et six pavanes and Neuf basses
dances.
It has four measure
phr~ses,
Variations include the Burgundian
as does the branle double.
br~nle,
which uses the same
dance but is accompanied by music in duple meter, the branle
16
courant,
phrases
which is in triple meter and employs four measure
(example 6), and the branle de poictou, which Arbeau
states "is danced in triple time ahvays moving to the left
- 15 ­
17
without deviation to the right."
ancient
provi~ce
The name poitou refers to an
of France, whose capital was Poitiers.
The
18
minuet is said to have originated from the branle de poictou.
The Branle Champaigne is a variation of the Burgundian branle,
and has irregular phrase lengths.
Two of the Attaingnant publications have their dance
selections devoted entirely to the pav'ane and gaillarde, Six
Gaillardes
~t
six Pavane, 1530, and Quart livre de danceries,
1550, and both dances appear in all but Cinquiesme livre de
danceries, 1550.
The pavane, a dance of Italian origin, is a
'slow processional dance in duple meter, danced by couples,
and is the most simple choreographically of the dances published
by Attaingnant.
The music accompanying the pavane is usually
in three sections, including innovative tonal features.
The
pavane was rare in France in the early sixteenth century.
It's
first appearanl::::e in print was In Joanambrosiao Dal za' s Intabolatura
de Lauto Libro Quarto, published by Petrucci in 1508, and the
initial choroeographic description is in Arbeau, 1589.
The pavane, a solemn dance, is usually found coupled with
a "nachtanz," the gaillarde, a livelier and faster dance.
Often the paired pavane and gaillarde are based upon the same
pre-existing chanson; however, this is not always the situation
in the Attaingnant dances.
This coupling of a fast, lively
dance to a slower, more solemn dance may be viewed as a fore-­
runner of the Baroque dance sui te.
-
16 ­
Example 7.
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)
,
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18 ­
The gaillarde, the most vigorous of the dances, is a
lively sixteenth century dance of Italian origin in triple
meter.
Arena compared the dance to a cock fight, and said,
"desist from doing the gaillarde, because your mother won't
19
bear any more children to replace you."
The choreographic
figure is danced to two groups of three beats, allowing the
entrance of hendola.
This rhythmic feature becomes distinctive
in the gai llarde and its variations.
As may be seen in the
20
following example (7),
the hemiola is a driving rhythmic
force in the gaillarde.
The gaillarde is usually found in
. three musical sections, although this is not the case in
example 7.
Variations of the gaillarde are the saltarello,
which is a less vigorous dance, and the tourdion, which
Arbeau says is "nothing other than a gaillarde with the feet
21
kept close to the ground. II
The allemunde occurs only in Troisieme livre de danceries,
1557, and only in eight of the dances.
German origin, and is in duple meter.
It is a slow dance of
Arbeau mentions that
the allemande is one of the oldest of the dances.
of the music itself
The motion
reflects the tempo of the dance.
Through the
frequent use of the semibreve simultaneously in all parts, both
the rhthmic and chordal motion is decreased, as is seen in
22
example 8.
SECTION 2
Tonal structure and design
- 19 ­
Formal clarity coupled with a forward looking approach
to design and
1~onal
structure are s ign:L ficant fea tures present
in the Attaingnant dances.
Composers of sacred music of the
same epoch were still bound by the Church to use the modes
and compose mass cycles and other sacred works.
arrangers of dances were under no such
The
obli~ation;
secular
composers often experimented wi th new sounds in tonality wi th-­
out the thought of Church censure.
This freedom led to many
new and innovative compositional techniques, some dictated
by the choreography itself, others by creative arrangers.
It
-is important to note that different dances illustrate varied
forward looking techniques, but the historic significance of
these techniques is not to be found in a tabulation of the
percentage of dances utilizing them.
The very presence of
these compositional techniques at all during the early
sixteenth cent-lry must be acknowledged as being historically
significant.
In the sixteenth century basse dance, the
employed several forms
-1'1'
I-I' B'II
"I
\I-A
4L 4L
III'_A
A
:1\: B l
4L
4L
composer/arrang~r
2L
A :\1:
etc.,) but
41._
in each of these limited himself to the total length of twenty
longa.
This length was dictated by
of the basse dance.
th~
choreographic length
The compositional method thus became a
division of the music into several formal sections, some or
all of the
sE.~tions
repeated.
The
com~J0ser
was given a fixed
-
,
I
\.........
...-:-:-i
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20 -
~\
\;--.
,........ t'--.
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.
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7
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to- T (a) liQBl=¥f+
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-1
Example 11.
-,-j
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- 21 ­
space of time in which to compose, allowing the growth of a
new concept, tne theme, and thematic variation to emerge.
The use of variation, not as a formalized method but as
a technique of musical extension, is often found in the
Attaingnant dances.
Repetition by variation allows the arranger
of "S'il est a rna poste," a branle simple in Dixhuit basses
dances, 1529, to extend a three measure phrase to a dance
totalling eighteen measures.
"S'il est a rna poste," named
after the chanson whose melody is adopted In the Superius, is
characteristic of the branle simple, being in duple meter, and
23
having three measure phrases (example 9).
The lowest voice
of this lute composition may almost be called a primitive
basso
ostinat~,
10) .
The only deviations, at measures 12 and 18, will prove
although the repetition is not exact (example
to have an important bearing upon the tonal organization of
the
compositio:~.
The first deviation from the ostinato occurs
at measure 12, where the three measure phrase in the Bassus
is completed on C instead of G.
The graph of these measures
will further explain the importance of this deviation (example
11).
As in many other Attaingnant dances, the Superius descends
a fourth, in this case in the first three measures, and again
in the second three measures
(measures 1-6); in the second
three measures the Superius is merely a thematic variation
of the initia1 phrase.
The harmonic motion in both these groups
is that of the tonic moving through the subdominant to the
-
dominant.
22 ­
The motion occurs again in measures 7-9 with the
motion resolvec as the dominant moves to the tonic in a
perfect authentic cadence
in measure 12.
have been extended from three.
Thus, twelve measures
The purpose of the final six
measures is to further define the tonic, first by harmonically
cadencing on the dominant in measure 15, and finally by
resolving from the dominant to the tonic in another perfect
authentic cadence in measure 18.
The distinctive features
of this composition are the descending line in the Superius
and the repeated harmonic motion in the Bassus, together
. achieving formal clarity and ·tonal uni ty.
More important than the division of a composition into
two or more sections is the method of division, allowing the
fusion of design and tonal structure, and leading to the
presence of tonali ty.
Let us clarify that tonality is an
extension of modality, not an opposite.
Glareanus and Zarlino
both spoke of the aeolian and ionian as being modes.
Most
of the Attaingnant dances are in either the major or minor
tonality.
This is not to say that the other modes are not
present; however the major and minor mode predominate.
Glareanus
and Zarlino agreed that ionian was the favorite mode in dance
24
A determining and neccessary factor in the prese~ce
music.
of tonality is the cadence, which defines the tonality through
the harmonic progression and the form by its limitation of
EX~!"Gple
23 ­
12.
I
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of
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Example 13.
~I:IJJ11Pj
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spacial units.
24 ­
This is illustrated in "La brosse," a basse
25
dance from Neuf basses dances deux branles, 1530 (example 12).
A first look reveals that the composition is in G minor, six­
teen measures in length, with the cadences found at measures
7 and 8, and closing the section at measure 16.
The section
is divided by the two cadences into two equal parts of eight
measures, producing formal clarity as well as defining the
tonal structure through the V chord.
The first cadence, at
measure 7, is a back-relating dominant; it defines the tonality,
but does not resolve to the tonic, which leaves a need for
further resolution.
This cadence does define what becomes
the firs t phrase, an emerging "theme".
This theme is then
repeated in the final eight measures, slightly altered.
Both
cadences are strengthened by the descending line in the
Superius, which moves through an octave from d' to d in the
first eight measures, reaching the d at the cadential point.
Then it descends a fifth from d
l
to g, cadencing below a 4-3
suspension (G-F-G being a lower neighbor), and finally resolves
to the tonic.
Example 13 is a graph of the sixteen measures
under discussion.
The outer voices play a significant role in the Attaingnant
dances, as they do ln this particular composition.
The inner
voices fill in the chords, and are less important.
The lowest
voice assumes the role of supporting and determining the tonal
-
25 ­
Example 14.
1\
I
,,
-
26 ­
unity of the composition, while the uppermost voice moves
through a descending fourth or fifth, finally achieving the
tonic at a cadence.
The harmonic Bassus may be seen in
example 12; it moves from the fifth to the tonic in the
final cadence while in the first eight measures i t descends
from G , the tonic, to D , the dominant.
1
The passamezzo
1
antico, a chordal succession often found during the
Renaissance, is employed in this work.
The chords are
marked by the letter x in example 12, and the passamezzo
antico is shown in example 14.
Another feature often used in these dances is that of
the Superius outlining a triad.
this point.
Example 12 will illustrate
The Superius moves through the G minor triad in
the first two measures, the F major triad in measures 3 and
4, the G minor triad in measures 5 and 6, and cadences on the
D minor triad in measures 7 and 8.
point to intensify the cadence.
Ficta may be added at
~his
This section is actually a
prolongation of the G minor triad, cadencing on 0, with the
F chord a lower neighbor (example 13).
Although the third
is not present in the tonic chord of the final cadence in
this work, it is found in other Attaingl ::mt dances.
Ohly two of the ten Attaingnant publications specify
the instrumental medium desired, Oixhuit
- - - - basses dances, 1529
for solo lute, and Quatorze Saillardes neuf Pavanes, 1531 for
-
Example 15.
I
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27 ­
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Example 16.
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solo keyboard.
28 ­
The 1529 publication is the earliest example
of lute music .in France, and the only issuance of lute music
by Attaingnant.
reflect
G~e
The compositions in each of the collections
instrument for which they were composed.
shows an early awareness of the concept of
as an entity separate from vocal music.
does not then become merely an
This
instrw~ental
music
Instrumental music
intrumental arrangement of
a vocal chanson, but a composition written for and to be
performed by one specific instrument.
The importance of this
concept in the early Renaissance should not be underestimated.
"La brosse" is again found in Dixhuit: basses dances,
26
1529 for solo lute (example 15).
Through a comparison with
example 12, the filling in of the melodic line becomes evident,
and this arrangement can easily be visualized as being performed
on the neck of a lute.
The style this version of "La brosse"
adopts is that of the improvising lute, filling in the melody
with scale patterns and running figures.
The arranger of
this 1529 version was obviously aware of the instrumental style
of the lute, and used that style skillfully in his arrangement.
An awareness of the keyboard technique may be evidenced
in
"Gaillarde," from Quatorze Gaillardes neuf Pavanes (example
27
--­
16) .
The stepwLse motion and filling in of the triad in
the right hand reflecting the keyboard finger patterns is
a.ccompanied
by chords in t.he left hand, obviously indicative
Example 17.
)
-
29 -
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of keyboard technique.
30 ­
Measure 5 illustrates the right hand
playing the cr-ordal accompaniment, while the left hand plays
the scale-like figuration.
Again, this is evidently composed
by someone knowledgeable in keyboard technique, and aware of
its compositional possibilities.
Thus, these publications
of 1529 and 1531 show an awareness of the techniques of
idiomatic writing, quite early in the sixteenth century.
New and fonvard looking tonal relationships appear
between the different sections of dances in the Attaingnant
collections.
The division of these sections is not arbit.rary,
and the repetition of these sections only serves to intensify
what occurs; it does not dictat.e the close of the sections.
We have viewed the emerging concept of tonality in these dances,
aided by the harmoni emotion driving to the cadence.
then
becom~s
Tonali ty
spacially defined in these dances, with various
sections tonally related to one another.
One important tonal concept found is tl1e rising importance
of the III chord, used in many compositions in the minor mode.
"Branle courant," from Second livre contenant trois Gaillardes,
-
28
1547, illustrates this point (example 17).
courant, as has been previously mentioned,
with four measure phrases.
The branle
lS
in triple meter
Example 17 is a composition in
two sections, the first section eight measures in length, the
second sixteen.
The dance is in G minoY, while the first
section moves from G minor to its mediant, Bb major, which is
-
31 -
- 32 ­
harmonically reinforced by its dominant, F.
on a Bb major chord.
The section closes
The second section begins on the same
Bb chord (identical voicing), finally moving to D, possibly
reinforced by ficta, and cadentially resolving to the tonic,
G minor.
The implications of these tonal relationships are
far reaching, and may be seen in the many dance suites of the
later Baroque by J.S. Bach, as well as in many of Domenico
Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas.
Again, there is polarity In t.he t\vO outer voices, a trai t
which later em8rged during the Baroque as the figured bass.
'Instead if using thematic variation, this composition uses
exact repetition of the Bassus to achieve its spacial concept.
A four measure basso ostinato is found in the second section
(measures 9-29), and is repeated two more times before the
pattern changes and resolves harmonically to the tonic.
The same tonal relationship may be seen in "Pavane" from
Neuf basses
da~ces,
1530, between the second and third sections.
This three section scheme is dictated externally by the
choreography, yet it allows the addition of advanced tonal
relationships.
The tonality is G minor, and the first section
both begins an" ends in G minor, harmonirally reinforced by a
perfect authentic cadence.
This is one example of a dance
having t..he third of a triad appear in the closing tonic chord.
The second section begins in G minor, but moves to its mediant.
-
j#5, :
­
33
Example 18 b.
If
/0
, ..,..t ",
,
,'i
"
,~
1:3
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't
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f1
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#
d
,
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Example 19.
[\\
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...,..' "
,
, . +-
"'f-.,. ?'­
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,
loF
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-41
d: ' -.J.
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+ '-l.,:.'" j..
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,
- 34 ­
Bb major, which ends in a perfect authentic cadence on Bb,
reinforced by its dominant.
tendency
Note the strong root position
of the Bassus, again helping to create a strong
polarity between the two outer voices.
The third section
begins on the III chord, finally moving to the V, which then
resolves to the tonic.
Interesting parallel sixth motion
occurs between the ?uperi us and Tenor in section two, while
parallel thirds are the case between the Contratenor and
Tenor in section three.
They are illustrated in the graph
in example 18.
Besides being a distinctive tonal feature in a middle
section, the mediant may also initiate a movement, while the
movement \<lill eventually cadence in the minor mode, a third
below.
This situation is also found in many of the Attaingnant
dances.
Tonal relationships ether than those using the III chord
are also utilized.
"Branle gay," from Dixh ui t basses dances_,
1529, has the first section moving from I to V, while the
second section completes the harmonic progression, moving
29
from V to I (example 19).
The concep-t of theme \"ith thematic
variation again emerges.
The first theme, in section one,
encompasses measures 1 and 2; measures 3 and 4 are a slight
variation of the opening measures, filling in the triads with
lute figuration.
The theme opening the second section in the
dominant is four meaSl1res in length; it is repeated with slight
-
35 ­
variation in the final four measures of the dance, filling
in the melody
w~th
sixteenel notes.
The tonal relationship
I-Vi V-I again has its culmination in the dances of the
Baroque suits.
These collections of over 400 dances present the theorist
with a wealth of music, little of which has been formally
studied.
Many important concepts emerge from a close
examination of these dances.
The coupling of tonal structure
to . design material leads to a rise of formal entities.
phrase repetition and the use of theme become
these dances.
r-1odern
co~nonplace
in
The nature of the descending line gaining
tension and resolving in a cadence is found, as is the polarity
of the outermost voices.
Advanced tonal relationships are not
the exception, but occur in many of the dances.
These dances
are too often dismissed as insignificant. compositions whose
main purpose is to accompany the dance.
But the far reaching
implications of these few examples discussed show these dances
to have an important place in the development of tonality,
design, and the creation of form.
- 36 ­
FOOTNOTES
1.
R. Eitner cites an eleventh printing dated 1538, in the
Nationalbibliothek, Vienna (Biographisch-Bihliographisch
Quellen lexicon, Leipzig, 1900-1904). Bror,.,-n mentions Eitner's
1538 publication as a reprint of Neuf basses dances deux
branles, 1530, no longer in existence (Instrumental Music
Printed Before 1600, Cambridge, 1965), while Heartz discusses
the possible misreading by Eitner of 1530 as 1538 (Pierre
Attaingnant Royal Printer of Music, Berkeley, 1969).
2.
Edward E. Lowinsky, Tonality and Atonality in Sixteenth­
Century Music (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1961).
3.
Daniel Heartz, Pierre Attaingnant Royal Printer of Music
(Berkeley:
Univeristy of California Press, 1969), p. -55.
4.
All publication dates encountered in this discussion refer
to those specified in Heartz, Pierre Attaingnant.
5.
Daniel Heartz, Preludes, Chansons and Dances for lute publi.shed
by Pierre Attaingnant, Pari e (1529-1530), (Neuilly-sur-Seine:
~ociete de Musique d'Autre fois, 1964), p. 55.
6.
Thoinot Arbeau, Orchesoqraphie, transl. M. S. Evans
Dover Publications, Inc., 1967).
7.
Daniel Heartz, "Hoftanz and Basse Dance," Journal of the
American Musicological Society, XIX (1966), p. 17.
8.
Heartz, Preludes, Chansons., p. 31.
9.
Antonius de Arena, Ad Co pagnones, cui sunt de persona friantes;
bassas dansas eJc bran10s practicantes, (1536).
(Ne\v York:
10. Friederich Blume, Vorgeschichte der Orchestersuite (Leipzig,
1925) .
11. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons., p. 33.
12. F. J. Giesbert, Pariser Tanzbuch aus dem Jahr 1530
B. Schotte S~hne, 1950), v.I.
(Mainz:
13. Mabel Dolrnetsch, Dances of England and France from 1450 t.o 1600
(London:
Routebedge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1965), p. 55.
14. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons.
15. Arbeau, p. 129.
- 37 ­
16. Raymond Meylan, Pierre Attaingnant-danseries a 4 parties
(second livre, 1547), (Paris:
Heugel and Co., 1969).
17. Arbeau, p. 147.
18. ibid., p. 203.
19. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons .. , p. 48.
20. Giesbert, v.
2.
21. Arbeau, p. 57.
22. TN"illi Apel and A. T. Davison, Historical Anthology of Music
(Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1946), v. 1.
23. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons.
24. Lowinsky, p. 62.
25. Giesbert, v. 1.
26. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons.
27. Daniel Heartz, Keyboard Dances from the Earlier Sixteenth
Century, Corpus of Keyboard Music, VIII (U~;S~- A.:
American
Institute of Musicology, 1965).
28. Meylan.
29. Heartz, Preludes, Chansons.
- 39 ­
Gombosi, Otto.
"About Dance and Dance Music 1n the Late Middle
Ages," Musi c~l Quar-terly, XXI (1941), 289.
Heartz, Daniel.
"Hoftanz and Basse Dance," Journal of the
American Musicological Society, XIX (1966), 13.
Key~oard
Dances from Earlier 16th Century, ed. Daniel Heartz,
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Institute of Musicology, 1965.
"La chronologie des recueils imprimes par
Pierre Attaingnant," Revue de musicologie, XLIV (1959),
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Berkeley:
Pierre Attaingnant Royal Printer of Music,
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Neuil1y-sur-Seine:
Societe de Musique d'Autre fois, 1964.
"Sources and Forms of the French Instrumental
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Harvard University, 1965).
?
"The Basse Dance:
Its circa 1450--1550,"
Annales Musicologie, VI (1958-1963), 287.
Lark et Instruction de bien Danser.
Pa:cis, 1486.
Michel Toulouze, pub.,
Livre de Basses danses de 1a Bibliothegue de Bourgogne, Paris,
1450.
LO\"insky, Edwa:...·d.
"The Concept of Physical and ~lusical Space
in the Renaissance," Pa?ers of the American Musicological
Society Meeting, 1941, New York: American Musicological
Society, 1941.
Lowinsky, Edward.
Tonality and Atonality in Sixteenth Century
Music, Berkeley:
University· of California Press, 1961.
Pierre Attaing1ant-danseries a 4 parties (second livre, 1547),
ed. - Ray! nd Meyl an, Paris: Heuge an d Co., 19 6 9 .
Hoe, L.
"Dance Music in Printed Lute Tablatures from 1507-1611, "
(unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1957).
Sachs, Curt. A World History of the Dance, transl. Bessie SchOrilieTg,
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Geschichte der Musik in Beispielen, ed. Arnold Schering, Leipzig:
Breitkopf und Hartel, 1931.
Woods, M.
Historical Dances, London:
Teachers of Dancing, 1952.
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