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More Duchesco, new music

Submitted by Katherina Weyssin on November 21, 2014 - 9:58am

We revisited Duchesco, and tried out new recordings of several old favourites.

  • Duchesco
  • Gelosia
  • Anello
  • Petit Riens
  • La figlia di guglielmino
  • Gracca Amorosa
  • Contentezza d'Amore
  • La Castellana
  • Amoroso

Duchesco

We did a group reconstruction of Duchesco last week, using Sparti's translation. This week, we changed the pattern slightly, after checking the rest of the sources, in Smith' concordance: circling with two saltarelli tedesci is much better than merely touching hands (circling is only indicated in one source, but that'll do for today). There's no extant music for Duchesco, so we're using the piece composed by Chris Elmes of Gaita. He gives eight tempi of pive, instead of four, two weave: no supported by the text, but a choice I'm very happy with, as it's so much easier to accomplish. I'm wondering if in fact the authors intended two pive doubles in each tempo (or possibly four pive to go around each man): the steps given seem inadequate for the path. 

New music

Katherine has a stack of new CDs from the Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society. We danced to some and listened to others.

  • Duchesco - L'arte perfetta del danzare (several groups, 2005) - pretty, harder to hear the rhythms, four pive only
  • Gelosia - L'arte perfetta - six repeats (time for women to weave too); unfamiliar pattern as the first man weaves - we tentatively settled on 3 contrapassi (as usual) to go to the second woman, the four pive to go to the third, another four pive to circle her, then four pive for the whole group. Katherine will check MSS for text and music. 
  • Anello - L'arte perfetta - pretty, somewhat irregular movimenti, which was disconcerting but a lot of fun
  • Petit Riens - L'arte perfetta - pretty, slowish, easy to follow
  • Amoroso - Ballare et danzare (Mediva, 2010)- tune sometimes hard to hear under the lovely countermelodies, pretty and danceable
  • Rostiboli Gioioso - Ballare et danzare - very clear, might be a good beginner track
  • Turckelone - Revels for 1588 (Broadside Band, 1988)- it sounds good! wonder of wonders! (the only recordings I've had previously have been pretty awful)
  • Pavaniglia - Revels for 1588 - quite slow, but lovely; looking forward to dancing to this

Present: Katherina Weyssin, William de Cameron, Anna, Katherine, Ian, Wendy

 

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