The Myth—Ancient The Greek myths about Orpheus epitomize the power of music.  Orpheus was given a lyre by Apollo, and he certainly became a musical prodigy. Forget about touching the heart; when Orpheus sang and played the lyre, his music had the power to calm wild beasts and even soften rocks! In retellings of the […]

Dance Music for Listeners Most dance music for lute or keyboard was stylized, probably intended not for dancing but for the entertainment of the player or a small audience. —Barbara Russo Hanning Although lutes were frequently used for accompanying dance during both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a solo practice came into being as well. […]

Lully and the Sun King Imagine the 14-year old son of a Florentine miller—a boy who had a wonderful singing voice, who had learned from a Franciscan friar how to play the guitar and violin—being noticed by the son of a French duke during a Madri Gras festival and chosen to go to Paris in […]

Music for Court and Rural Dancing It seems that in the Renaissance era (for music, considered roughly 1400 to early 1600s) musicians were apt to show up almost anyplace to play for dancers: outdoor rustic festivals, weddings in country towns, social gatherings in aristocratic homes, and formal entertainments in royal ballrooms. Indeed that most famous […]

Castles and Countryside It is simply not known what dance went with what music. —Ingrid Brainard, dance historian Stories of knights and castles have a way of sparking our imaginations when we are young. It’s a little more difficult to form an idea of what really went on in those stone castles centuries ago. What […]

Preface Prologue Medieval Music for Movement Castles and Countryside Hildegard’s Processionals The Play of Daniel Written Estampies Le Jeu de Robin et Marion Renaissance Celebrations Music for Court and Rural Dancing Le Ballet Comique de la Reine Baroque Opera-Ballets Lully and the Sun King Rameau’s Indians Suite Yourself Dance-Inspired Music for Listeners Variations for English […]