The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #123045   Message #2708171
Posted By: giles earle
25-Aug-09 - 11:26 AM
Thread Name: Thoinot Arbeau: writer, collector, both?
Subject: RE: Thoinot Arbeau: writer, collector, both?
Arbeau notes here and there that he's only giving examples of dance-tunes, and it's pretty noticeable that he often doesn't complete a tune, merely giving enough to demonstrate the steps (e.g. the Branle de Poitou). Also, I understand that the Basse-Dance was already old-fashioned by the time he published his book.

Seems entirely reasonable to assume not only that the tunes are not of his own composition, and also that he may well deliberately (and sensibly) have used well-known tunes to illustrate the basic steps of the dances.

Have you come across the old Broadside Band recording from the 1980s, with realisations of all the tunes? Now re-released on CD (along with a few not-at-all-French dances from Playford!) as 'Danses Populairs Francaise'.