This recording forms the continuation of our anthology “Dance Music of the Renaissance” (Archiv Produktion Stereo 2533 111). It comprises dances dating from about 1570 until 1620 - the period before the Thirty Years’ War. In its struggle against the Habsburgs, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, France was becoming the most formidable power in Europe. As the great powers strove for supremacy the Italian city states attempted to compensate for the loss of their political prestige by displays of lavish baroque art, and by cultivating the accomplishments of polite society. England experienced a great upsurge of cultural activity and of prosperity based on trade, much of it with distant lands only recently discovered, during the Elizabethan era, when the world became aware of the “nouvelle contenance anglaise”.
Owing to the comparatively limited period of time during which all these dances originated, they have certain features in common despite the fact that they are from different countries. These are dances of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie, such as were composed, arranged and published in Italy and France, in England and Germany. Social etiquette demanded that every ball should be well ordered, and a dancing master was appointed as master of ceremonies to ensure that this was done. He was responsible for the composition and arrangement of dances, for the band, the sequence of pieces and the correct execution of figures by the dancers. The albums in which dancing masters wrote out the dances, and often the succession of figures - frequently they also contained illustrations - are important sources of information concerning the cultural history of the period. One of the best of these (published) collections is Mario Caroso’s “IL BALLERINO” (Venice, 1581; in its second, substantially enlarged edition, “NOBILTÀ DI DAME”, Venice, 1600; numbers 9 and 10 in this recording are from it). Further dances have come down to us indirectly, through collections of dances made by others, for example the dances of the French dancing master Pierre Francisque Caroubel, which Michael Praetorius included in his own collection “TERPSICHORE” (Wolfenbüttel, 1612) - Nos. 11 to 15.
Many dances bear significant titles. Some name society figures: MRS. WINTER’S JUMP (No. 21), or GAILLARDE DE M. WUSTRON (No. 24). KEMP’S JIG (No. 19) refers to the actor and dancer William Kemp. Other titles point to the national or folklore origins of the dances: TEDESCHA, UNGARESCHA (Nos. 2, 3). CATKANEI imitates the crowing of a cock (No. 30); SCHIARAZULA MARAZULA (No. 1) possibly refers to Scharamuzza, a figure of the Commedia dell’arte. The titles of BALLI, CELESTE GIGLIO = Celestial Lily, BARRIERA (Nos. 10, 9) have meanings connected with pantomime, but we do not know what they are.
Dancers of`those days had ample room to move about. The cramped conditions in many dance halls and rooms used for parties nowadays were unknown then. Plenty of space in the ballroom, or in the open, was needed not only for the slow dances performed in pairs, especially the stately PAVANE in duple time (the name PAVANE derives either from that of the town of Padua or from pavone = peacock - the steps do suggest the peacock’s proud strides); above all the quick dances, Saltarelli, Jigs and Gaillardes, with their kick steps, whirling turns and leaps, needed plenty of room.
Examination of dance collections shows that these lively dances, and in particular GAILLARDES (the English Galliards) were in the majority. Originally invented to conclude slow dances, from whose melodies and harmonic patterns they were probably derived, these GAILLARDES were being composed in ever greater numbers, as independent dances, during the period with which we are concerned. The sequence of steps in a GAILLARDE (in triple time) consists of five steps (cinque pas; sink-a-pace in Shakespeare):

l r l     r + l     r l r     l + r     l ...
1 2 3     4 5 6     1 2 3     4 5 6     1...
(+ = leap).

As is shown by illustrations, the GAILLARDE was danced open in most figures, i. e. without the pairs touching each other. The leap could be done by both partners.
The most daring and untrammelled dance of the time was the VOLTE, or Lavolta (Nos. 14, 15). The pairs went round closely linked. Hops, high and long leaps were part of the figures. The lady was whirled round, high in the air, her partner supporting her by the upper thighs or by holding the flat front of the corset. Some prudent ladies protected themselves by means of girdles and strong clothing of their own design. The Volte, originally a folk dance from Provence, brought a dash of daring vitality into the ballroom. It had many critics who declared the dance to be “immoral”, and who expressed their disgust at the “shameful” manner in which the lady was held.
In our choice of dances we have made a point, as far as possible, of recording only pieces which are not already available on another record. For dances of German origin, a few of which - despite the large number of sources - are included here, listeners are referred to another recording, Archiv Produktion Stereo 198 166, which consists exclusively of dances by Praetorius, Widmann and Schein. Our anthology of dance music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with the Ulsamer Collegium and Konrad Ragossnig, will be completed with the issue of a third l.p. record. “Dance Music of the High Baroque", which is in preparation.