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33-583: In the Baroque era , after the Academie de Dance was established by Louis XIV in 1661, the French court adapted the bourrée, like many such dances, for the purposes of concert dance . In this way it gave its name to a ballet step characteristic of the dance , a rapid movement of the feet while en pointe or demi-pointe, and so to the sequence of steps called pas de bourrée . The bourrée became an optional movement in

66-498: A French dance from the same period. The French noble style was danced both at social events and by professional dancers in theatrical productions such as opera-ballets and court entertainments. However, 18th-century theatrical dance had at least two other styles: comic or grotesque , and semi-serious. Other dance styles, such as the Italian and Spanish dances of the period, are much less well studied than either English country dance or

99-450: A bourrée in his Lady Radnor Suite (1894). The bourrée has been used by a number of pop and rock music bands, particularly Bach's E minor Bourrée for the lute . In 1969 both Bakerloo and Jethro Tull released versions of this, the former as a single, "Drivin' Bachwards", on Harvest Records (HAR 5004) in July and on their self-titled debut album (Harvest SHVL 762) the following December,

132-439: A minuet step of three movements. As later formalised in classical ballet the skipping step of the bourrée became a quick, gliding step, often en pointe or demi-pointe , one of the most-used step sequences of ballet. A pas de bourrée , more commonly known as the "behind side front" or "back side front", is a quick sequence of movements often taken in preparation for a larger step. In one account it begins with an extension of

165-543: A second bourrée, the two to be played in a grand ternary form A–(A)–B–A. Marguerite de Navarre , who was the wife of the King of Navarre and sister to the King of France, introduced the dance to the French court in 1565 and it was popular until the reign of Louis XIII (1601–1643) and opened many balls, but the bourrée took some time to appear in the early ballet dance notation of the French baroque theatre . The step with two movements

198-473: A short rendering in " Rock Your Socks " on their eponymous album and in "Classico" on their second album. Rock guitarist Blues Saraceno plays a jazz version in the beginning and end of the track "Bouree" on his third album, Hairpick . Other adapted bourrées include: Baroque dance Baroque dance is dance of the Baroque era (roughly 1600–1750), closely linked with Baroque music , theatre, and opera. The majority of surviving choreographies from

231-860: Is commonly known to modern scholars as the French noble style or belle danse (French, literally "beautiful dance"), however it is often referred to casually as baroque dance in spite of the existence of other theatrical and social dance styles during the baroque era. Primary sources include more than three hundred choreographies in Beauchamp–Feuillet notation , as well as manuals by Raoul Auger Feuillet and Pierre Rameau in France, Kellom Tomlinson , P. Siris , and John Weaver in England, and Gottfried Taubert in Germany (i.e. Leipzig , Saxony). This wealth of evidence has allowed modern scholars and dancers to recreate

264-431: Is danced during bals folk in France and in other countries. The present-day dance in lower Auvergne, also called Montagnarde ( Montanhardas ), is in triple time while that of high Auvergne called Auvergnate ( Auvernhatas ) is in double time. Modern variants termed bourrées are danced as partner dances , circle dances , square dances and line dances . However bourrées have been composed as abstract musical pieces since

297-510: Is especially popular. Handel wrote several bourrées in his solo chamber sonatas (for example the fourth movement of his Oboe sonata in C minor ); however, perhaps his best-known is the seventh movement of the Water Music (Handel) suite. In the 19th century Frédéric Chopin and Emmanuel Chabrier wrote bourrées for the piano (such as the latter's Bourrée fantasque , composed 1891). The Victorian English composer, Sir Hubert Parry included

330-477: Is not illustrated by Feuillet but appears in Rameau as the "true" pas de bourrée, the simpler step, with one movement, is identified with the fleuret . The basic step, with one initial movement (i.e. a plié on the supporting leg) and three subsequent changes of weight in a measure, can be performed in a great many variations, and varieties of this step appear commonly throughout the notated dances that were published in

363-643: The classical suite of dances , and J. S. Bach , Handel and Chopin wrote bourrées, not necessarily intending them to be danced. The bourrée originates in Auvergne in France. It is sometimes called the "French clog dance " or a " branle of the sabots ". First mentioned as a popular dance in 1665 in Clermont-Ferrand , it still survives in Auvergne in the Massif Central and in the department of Ariège and

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396-413: The 1960s. The leading figures of the second generation of historical dance research include Shirley Wynne and her Baroque Dance Ensemble which was founded at Ohio State University in the early 1970s and Wendy Hilton (1931–2002), a student of Belinda Quirey who supplemented the work of Melusine Wood with her own research into original sources. A native of Britain, Hilton arrived in the U.S. in 1969 joining

429-497: The Baroque era and eventually spread in various forms across Europe and its colonies, and to all levels of society. The great innovations in dance in the 17th century originated at the French court under Louis XIV , and it is here that we see the first clear stylistic ancestor of classical ballet . The same basic technique was used both at social events, and as theatrical dance in court ballets and at public theaters. The style of dance

462-518: The French government. In 1973, French dance historian Francine Lancelot (1929–2003) began her formal studies in ethnomusicology which later led her to research French traditional dance forms and eventually Renaissance and Baroque dances. In 1980, at the invitation of the French Minister of Culture, she founded the baroque dance company "Ris et Danceries". Her work in choreographing the landmark 1986 production of Lully 's 1676 tragedie-lyrique Atys

495-470: The French national celebration of Jean Philippe Rameau's 300th birthday, Turocy choreographed the first production of Jean-Philippe Rameau 's Les Boréades - it was never performed during the composer's lifetime. This French supported production with John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, and his orchestra was directed by Jean Louis Martinoty. Turocy has been decorated as Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by

528-565: The French style. The general picture seems to be that during most of the 17th century, a style of late Renaissance dance was widespread, but as time progressed, French ballroom dances such as the minuet were widely adopted at fashionable courts. Beyond this, the evolution and cross-fertilisation of dance styles is an area of ongoing research. The revival of baroque music in the 1960s and '70s sparked renewed interest in 17th and 18th century dance styles. While some 300 of these dances had been preserved in Beauchamp–Feuillet notation , it wasn't until

561-481: The bourrée, "its distinguishing feature resides in contentment and a pleasant demeanor, at the same time it is somewhat carefree and relaxed, a little indolent and easygoing, though not disagreeable". Johann Sebastian Bach often used the bourrée in his suites as one of the optional dance movements that come after the sarabande but before the gigue , and he also wrote two short bourrées in his Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach . That in his Lute Suite in E Minor (BWV 996)

594-541: The chorus of the Hamburg opera. He made his solo debut with the Hamburg opera in 1696 in female roles and, after his voice changed, sang tenor at the opera, conducted rehearsals and composed operas himself. He was cantor at St. Mary's Cathedral, Hamburg from 1718 until increasing deafness led to his retirement from that post in 1728. Mattheson's chief occupation from 1706 was as a professional diplomat. He had studied English in school and spoke it fluently. He became tutor to

627-499: The eighteenth century, starting with Feuillet in 1700. The minuet step is a pas composé, a step composed of more basic steps. The pas de bourrée of one movement is the second half of the most common minuet step, the minuet step of two movements, or "one and a fleuret", as the English master Tomlinson described it. The rare pas de bourrée of two movements, mentioned above, occurs as a graceful variation in some recorded passepied, as part of

660-493: The faculty of the Juilliard School in 1972 and establishing her own baroque dance workshop at Stanford University in 1974 which endured for more than 25 years. Catherine Turocy (b. circa 1950) began her studies in Baroque dance in 1971 as a student of dance historian Shirley Wynne. She founded The New York Baroque Dance Company in 1976 with Ann Jacoby, and the company has since toured internationally. In 1982/83 as part of

693-431: The first leg while demi plié , closing it to the second as both transit to relevé , extending the second leg to an open position and again closing first to second in demi plié , or with legs straight if quick or as the final step of an enchainement . There are several variants. A pas de bourrée piqué picks up the feet in between steps. In his Der Vollkommene Capellmeister (Hamburg, 1739), Johann Mattheson wrote of

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726-531: The latter on their August album Stand Up . Paul McCartney also stated that the Beatles had known the tune for a long time and that it had inspired his song Blackbird . Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin often played the opening section of Bourrée in E minor as part of the solo of a live performance of Heartbreaker , and he has also described the acoustic guitar and recorder intro to Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven as "a poor man's bourrée". Tenacious D play

759-400: The mid-16th century. Michael Praetorius mentions it in his Syntagma musicum and it is one of the dances arranged for his collection Terpsichore . However, there is no early dance notation and it is difficult to assess the early interaction of the folk dance and the courtly dance. Musically, the bourrée took on the common binary form of classical dance movements, sometimes extended by

792-505: The mid-20th century that serious scholarship commenced in deciphering the notation and reconstructing the dances. Perhaps best known among these pioneers was Britain's Melusine Wood, who published several books on historical dancing in the 1950s. Wood passed her research on to her student Belinda Quirey, and also to Pavlova Company ballerina and choreographer Mary Skeaping (1902–1984). The latter became well known for her reconstructions of baroque ballets for London's "Ballet for All" company in

825-465: The most prominent. In 1995 Francine Lancelot's catalogue raisonné of baroque dance, entitled La Belle Dance , was published. Johann Mattheson Johann Mattheson (28 September 1681 – 17 April 1764) was a German composer, critic , lexicographer and music theorist . His writings on the late Baroque and early Classical period were highly influential, specifically, "his biographical and theoretical works were widely disseminated and served as

858-453: The period are English country dances , such as those in the many editions of Playford's The Dancing Master . Playford only gives the floor patterns of the dances, with no indication of the steps. However, other sources of the period, such as the writings of the French dancing-masters Feuillet and Lorin, indicate that steps more complicated than simple walking were used at least some of the time. English country dance survived well beyond

891-484: The son of the English ambassador Sir John Wich and then secretary to the ambassador. He went on diplomatic missions abroad representing the ambassador. In 1709 he married Catharina Jennings, the daughter of an English clergyman; they did not have any children. Mattheson was a close friend of George Frideric Handel , although he nearly killed Handel in a sudden quarrel during a performance of Mattheson's opera Die unglückselige Kleopatra, Königin von Ägypten in 1704. Handel

924-405: The source for all subsequent lexicographers and historians". Johann Mattheson was born on 28 September 1681 in Hamburg. The son of a prosperous tax collector, Mattheson received a broad liberal education and, aside from general musical training, took lessons in keyboard instruments , violin , composition and singing. By age nine he was singing and playing organ in church and was a member of

957-433: The style, although areas of controversy still exist. The standard modern introduction is Hilton. French dance types include: The English, working in the French style, added their own hornpipe to this list. Many of these dance types are familiar from baroque music , perhaps most spectacularly in the stylized suites of J. S. Bach . Note, however, that the allemandes , that occur in these suites do not correspond to

990-667: The vault of Hamburg's St. Michaelis' Church where his grave can be visited. Mattheson is mainly famous as a music theorist. He was the most abundant writer on performance practice, theatrical style, and harmony of the German Baroque . He is particularly important for his work on the relationship of the disciplines of rhetoric and music, for example in Das neu-eröffnete Orchestre , Hamburg 1713, and Der vollkommene Capellmeister  [ de ] , Hamburg 1739. However his books raise more and more attention and suspicion because Mattheson

1023-459: Was a brilliant polemicist and his theories on music are often full of pedantry and pseudo-erudition. The bulk of his compositional output was vocal, including eight operas, and numerous oratorios and cantatas . He also wrote a few sonatas and some keyboard music, including pieces meant for keyboard instruction. All of his music, except for one opera, one oratorio, and a few collections of instrumental music, went missing after World War II , but

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1056-482: Was part of the national celebration of the 300th anniversary of Lully's death. This production propelled the career of William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants . Since the Ris et Danseries company was disbanded circa 1993, choreographers from the company have continued with their own work. Béatrice Massin with her "Compagnie Fetes Galantes", along with Marie-Geneviève Massé and her company "L'Eventail" are among

1089-407: Was saved only by a large button which turned aside Mattheson's sword. The two were afterwards reconciled and remained in correspondence for life: shortly after his friend's death, Mattheson translated John Mainwaring 's biography of Handel into German and had it published in Hamburg at his own expense (" auf Kosten des Übersetzers ") in 1761. After his death in 1764, Johann Mattheson was buried in

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