Popular Dances

General Characteristics.

Literary sources, including music treatises, provide the names of several dances and a few descriptions, although some of the references are so incomplete that little can be deduced from them. Medieval literature includes far more dance names than are described in the treatises, leaving an impression of a society that enjoyed a wide variety of dances, only a few of which are known in any detail. The Catalan treatise written by Jofre Goixà, the Doctrina de compondre dictatz (Treatise for Composing Poetry), from about 1300, for example, gives instructions on how one may write a dansa, a dance name that is not found elsewhere. According to the treatise, the dansa should have three stanzas, a refrain, and one or two envoys ("sendoff" stanzas, used for summing up or offering a dedication), the text should be about love, it should have a nice melody, and it is to be sung with an instrumental accompaniment. That description, unfortunately, could apply to nearly all dance songs, and perhaps that is really what is intended: a general characterization of the contents of dance songs rather than instructions for a particular dance called dansa.

Sources of Information.

The most detailed of the early descriptions are found in the treatise De musica, written in Paris around the year 1300 by Johannes de Grocheio. In this work, Grocheio defines both vocal and instrumental dances. By combining Grocheio's statements with poetry treatises and other, less specific literary references, as well as the evidence of the music itself, it is possible to obtain an idea of some of the dances. The dances described in the rather dry and academic accounts of the treatises take on more human and real presence in Simone Prodenzani's Il Sapporitto, and Guillaume de Lorris's The Romance of the Rose. These poems capture the spirit of the occasions and supply us with vivid glimpses of a very lively dance culture in which everyone took part. The dance music discussed below provides additional details about the nature and spirit of the dance steps and formations.

The Round Dance /Rondeau.

The round and the carol must have been the two most popular dances in the Middle Ages. They are the two most often mentioned in literature and depicted in manuscripts and paintings. The description by Grocheio tells us that the music has a refrain and that the melody of the refrain is exactly the same as that of the verse. A good example of what he is describing can be seen in the round "with a vocal dance" (Vocis tripudio), a sacred dance found in the Magnus liber organi, which demonstrates how the text is to be sung and also suggests the kind of dancing that would accompany the song. To perform this song, a soloist (the dance leader) would sing the first phrase, "With a vocal dance," and the rest of the dancers (the chorus) would respond with the half refrain, "This assembly sings," using the same melody. The soloist would then sing the next phrase, "With a vocal dance but with a temperate mind," and the chorus would answer with the full refrain, "This assembly sings of Paschaltide," again using the same melody supplied by the soloist. All of the following verses would proceed in the same way with the soloist singing the new words of each verse, followed by the chorus singing the same half and full refrain. The name of this type of verse and refrain song, rondeau (round dance), implies that the dance was done in the formation of a circle, perhaps with the leader actually standing in the center of the circle rather than as a part of it. (For practical reasons of size and perspective, manuscript illuminations would often only suggest the formation, but the raised hands of participants would indicate that they were to be joined in a circle.) The usual steps for this kind of dance are leg over leg to the side, going around in a circle, reversing direction at the beginning of each new verse. As Grocheio explains, this kind of song is sung by young men and women on all festive occasions.

DANCE TERMS FROM DE MUSICA

introduction: The following is a list of dance terms from Johannes de Grocheio's De musica, written in Paris around the year 1300.

Sung Dances

Refrain: A refrain is the way all [dance] songs begin and end. They are different in the round, carol, and estampie. In the round they agree in sound and rhyme. In the carol and estampie, however, some agree and some are different.

Round: We call round or rotundellus [those songs] that do not have a different melody in the verse and the refrain. It is sung in a slow rhythm … and is often sung in the West country, for example in Normandy, by young men and women to celebrate festivals and other grand occasions.

Vocal estampie: A song called an estampie [stantipes] is that in which there is a diversity in its parts in its refrain, not only in the rhyme of the words but also in the melody. … This type causes the souls of young men and women to concentrate because of its difficulty, and turns them from improper thinking.

Vocal carol: A carol [ductia] is a light song, rapid in its rise and fall, which is sung in carol by young men and women. … This influences the hearts of young men and women and keeps them from vanity and is said to have force against that passion which is called love or eros.

Instrumental Dances

Instrumental carol: An instrumental carol [ductia] is an untexted piece with appropriate percussion. I say with regular percussion because these beats measure it and the movement of the performer, and excite the souls of men and women to moving ornately according to that art they call dancing.

Instrumental estampie: The estampie is also an untexted piece, having a complicated succession of sounds, determined by its verses. … Because of its complicated nature, it makes the souls of the performer and listener pay close attention. Its form is determined by its [irregular] verses since it is lacking that [regular] beat which is in a carol.

source: Johannes de Grocheio, Concerning Music (De musica). Trans. Albert Seay (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 1974): 17–21.

The Carol.

Along with the round, the carol is the other most frequently mentioned and depicted dance from this period. The two dances are closely related in that the round is one of the possible formations for the carol. But unlike most other dance formations, the carol was quite flexible, giving rise to Grocheio's name for it, ductia, meaning "leader's dance," signifying that the carol could take on a number of different formations depending on the whim of the leader. It would begin as a line dance for as many as wanted to join, with all the participants holding hands, and could change into round or under-the-bridge formations as the leader wished. According to Grocheio's description, the steps of a carol were lively and light-hearted, with a relatively quick tempo. He notes that the dance excites the dancers to move ornately, which suggests that a part of the carol dancing tradition included some active improvisation on the part of individual dancers. Grocheio's rather sober description is augmented by the more fanciful scene depicted in The Romance of the Rose, written in the mid-thirteenth century, where we receive a similar impression of light-hearted gaiety with a variety of activities. The surviving repertory, in addition to the surviving English carols, is quite small and consists of three French instrumental compositions called danse and danse real. These pieces all have very short phrases, with light, simple, and lively melodies.

TWO EVENINGS OF DANCE

introduction: These witty poems from Il Sapporitto, by Simone Prodenzani (c. 1400), contain the names of a number of dances as well as some detailed descriptions of dance steps not found elsewhere. The poems accompany a narrative about a "bon vivant" named Sollazzo, who is apparently good at dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments. Although fictional, the poems present a fairly accurate picture of music and dance in aristocratic Italian circles during the late Middle Ages.

We come now to the second evening:
I tell you truly that by the light of the double candles
they danced a rigoletto rather lightly,
jumping forward and back and in waves.
Of those who were seen in the round
each one arose and danced to "al bicchieri."
No dancer had ever been seen
to make such beautiful moves and turns to the hurdygurdy,
with slave-like bends and turns, forward and backward jumps,
some with new halting moves,
and some made small circles on the point of their feet.
Some made their bows with head and shoulders,
while others did it with hands and feet raised
as if they were sailors or Greeks.

The third evening they danced two by two
beginning with "ranfo," and then "l'achinea."

Here one finds Cagnetto and Monna Mea,
who would never miss that dance.
And on the dance floor also was il Vicaro,
who took Monna Tomea by the hand.
Nor did there remain either a good
woman or a queen who did not dance with a man of her status.
Then came the dance of "La pertusata"
and after a while came "La palandra"
and then they did "Donna Innamorata."
Never was seen a lark who could sing as well
as did Solazo play on this wind instrument,
a performance that was the equal of a piper from Flanders.

With the bagpipe Sollazzo played "La pastorella,"
then in the evening he played "La picchina,"
"La forosetta" and then "La campagnina,"
"A la fonte io l'amai," and "La Marinella."
You would have said "it is fabulous!"
that he played so well in "La palazina"
and "La Guiduccia," also "La montanina,"
"La casa bassa," and "La patrona bella."
To this last tune they danced in the Roman style
with the chest extended and raised
which for the women is more beautiful than the Tuscan style.
Then they formed in a circle to do the rigoletto,
arm and arm, because it is a country dance.
All who were there took great pleasure in it.

source: Simone Prodenzani, Il Sapporitto, in Il "Sollazzo". Ed. Santorre Debenedetti (Turin: Bocca, 1922). Translation by Timothy J. McGee.

The Estampie.

The estampie is mentioned in literature from France and Italy, and Grocheio discusses both a vocal and an instrumental form. The word itself probably derives from the Latin stante pedes (stationary feet), referring to the fact that the dance steps remain close to the ground, in contrast to those dances that employ jumps or kicks. Grocheio describes this dance as suitable for people of all ages, which probably means that it is a less energetic dance, as is suggested by the "low" steps, and in contrast to the round and carol that he recommends for "young men and women." According to the 1328 Lays d'amors of Guillaume Molinier, a set of rules for composing troubadour poetry, the estampie poem has a text based on love and homage. At the end it can have an envoy stanza that serves as a summary or dedication, or it can possibly repeat the opening or closing couplet.

A ROUND DANCE

introduction: This is one of the earliest round dances known. It is found in the Florence copy of the (originally Parisian) Magnus liber organi, and is intended to be performed by monks during a church service. The leader sings lines 1, 3, and 4 of each verse (the new material in each verse), and the entire choir sings lines 2, 5, and 6 (the refrain).

source: "Vocis Tripudio." Trans. Randall Rosenfeld (Florence: Biblioteca Mediceo-Laurenziana, MS Pluteo 29, 1).

The "Kalenda Maya" Estampie.

This description is confirmed by all of the existing twenty troubadour estampie poems, and especially by the single example that survives with both text and music, "Kalenda Maya," by the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras. (There are minor variants in the construction of all of the texts, such as number of stanzas, which suggests that there was some leeway allowed). The text of "Kalenda Maya" is about both love and homage. It is in five stanzas, with a refrain but without an envoy. From the music of "Kalenda Maya" it can be seen how the individual musical phrases were repeated in pairs, with the refrain at the end of each stanza. This construction suggests that the performance format could have been similar to that of the round, with verses sung by a soloist and a refrain for all to sing. With its dramatic portrayal of a lover who must implore his elevated lady to take pity on him, the text of "Kalenda Maya" is typical of courtly love lyrics in the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries.

A DANCING SCENE FROM ROMANCE OF THE ROSE

introduction:

[This text has been suppressed due to author restrictions]

source:

A "CHRISTMAS" CAROL

introduction: The term carol is usually associated in modern times with a Christmas song that sounds much like a hymn, but the repertory of early English carols shows that they were intended for a number of occasions, including Christmas, and were in the verse and refrain format. (The refrain in an English carol is called a burden.) More than 100 English carols with music have survived from around the year 1400, and nearly five times as many without music, some in Latin, some in English, and some in an alternation of Latin and English known as macaronic (mixed texts), where the two languages are blended together in the way illustrated by this carol for the feast of the Annunciation (followed by a modern translation).

This worle wondreth of al thynge
Howe a maide conceyued a kynge;
To yeue vs al therof shewynge,
Veni, Redemptor gencium.

Whan Gabriel come with his gretynge
To Mary moder, that swete thynge,
He graunted and saide with grete lykynge,
"Veni, Redemptor gencium." [3 additional verses]

Above all, this world wonders
how a virgin conceived a king,
to make that manifest to us.
Come, Redeemer of the nations.

When Gabriel came with his greeting
to the Mother Mary, that sweet thing,
he spoke to her and said with great fondness,
"Come, Redeemer of the nations."

source: Richard Leighton Greene, ed., The Early English Carols. 2d ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977): 36. Translation by David N. Klausner.

Regional Variations in the Estampie.

In addition to "Kalenda Maya," the surviving repertory of estampies consists of one additional vocal dance, "Souvent souspire," which is a new text set to the "Kalenda Maya" music, and 21 instrumental pieces—three from England, eight from France (called estampie royal), and ten from Italy (called istanpitta), many of which have fanciful titles such as "Chominciamento di gioia" (Beginning of

KALENDA MAYA

introduction: "Kalenda Maya," written in 1190 by the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, is the earliest known estampie. At the end of each verse, a refrain, beginning with the words "And may I be joined," is repeated. The entire refrain is printed here at the end of the first verse.

As suggested by the words "noble and vivacious lady" and "your fair person" in the first verse, this song is a monologue addressed by a lover to his lady; the use of the phrase "Fair Knight" in verse 4 suggests a comparison to the system of feudalism, as was common in courtly love literature.

source: Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, "Kalenda Maya," c. 1190. Trans. Robert Taylor.

Joy), and "Tre fontane" (Three Fountains). The music indicates that the estampie did not take on the same character in all of these regions. In the English and French sources the phrases are all quite short, with simple and lively melodies. The Italian estampies, however, have relatively long phrases with more rhapsodic melodies and are more than ten times the length of the English and French dances. Although the phrases in all of the dances are of irregular lengths, which suggests that all estampies had steps that did not require a specific sequence, the differing characters of the melodic lines hint at a lively dance in England and France, and a more subdued one in Italy.

sources

J. H. Marshall, The Razos de Trobar of Raimon Vidal and Associated Texts (London: Oxford University Press, 1972).

Timothy J. McGee, "Medieval Dances: Matching the Repertory with Grocheio's Descriptions," in Journal of Musicology 7 (1989): 489–517.

—, Medieval Instrumental Dances (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989): 19–22.

"Medieval Carols," in Musica Britannica. Trans. and ed.

John Stevens. Vol. 4 (London: Stainer and Bell, 1958).

René Nelli and René Lavaud, eds., and trans., Les Troubadours. Vol. 2 (Paris: Desclée De Brouwer, 1966).

Ernst Rohloff, Die Quellenhandschriften zum Musiktraktat des Johannes de Grocheio (Leipzig, Germany: Deutscher Verlag für Musik, 1972); English translation by Albert Seay, Johannes de Grocheio Concerning Music (Colorado Springs, Colo.: Colorado College Music Press, 1974).

see also Music: Polyphonic Secular Music and National Styles