Singing the Galliard

Dancing and singing at the same time is rare today. However, written records reveal that dance songs have been an integral part of musical culture for as long as musical practices have been documented. The years around 1600 saw the heyday of texted dance tunes. And among the extant sources, the sung galliard is the most prominent dance.

Initially, the galliard was a purely instrumental dance popular in France and Italy. With its lively ternary rhythm and its hops, jumps, and leaps, by the 1530s the galliard had become fashionable in all social classes. But it was more than a dance, as the term gaillard/gagliardo rather epitomized an attitude, expressing strength, energy, and virility. In the early 1590s, the Italian singer and composer Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi set a trend with his printed collections of balletti per cantare, sonare e ballare – dances to be sung, played, and danced – in which galliard songs make up the bulk. This trend rapidly spread north of the Alps, particularly in the German-speaking area.

In our study day we will explore the cultural contexts and performance practices of the galliard, a dance that required particular physical strength and agility especially from the male dancer. Moreover, focussing on the German sung galliard and its relationship with the Italian model, we will approach the following questions:

• What was the relationship between dance steps, music, and lyrics, particularly with regard to phrasing and rhythm?
• How were poetic and musical structure aligned?
• What changes occur when the Italian sung galliards are set to a new German text?
• What were the typical instrumentations?
• How can the singing, dancing, and instrumental accompaniment be balanced? Etc.

After introductory inputs by Hanna Walsdorf and Martina Papiro, Hubert Hazebroucq and Gabriele Miracle will each offer a presentation followed by a practical workshop.

> Free admission

> Active participation is encouraged; please contact us to receive the selection of sheet music.

> Students of the SCB who wish to participate actively are requested to register via ONLA by the 12th October. More information for SCB Students here (FHNW Inside).

PROVISIONAL PROGRAM

09:30  Introduction
 

09:45  Hanna Walsdorf (Universität Basel): Singing for Dance and Dancing to Songs around 1600: Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi’s “Balletti a 5 voci” (1591) and its International Impact
 

10:15  Martina Papiro (SCB): Raised Legs, Jumps, and Other Visual Characteristics of Dancing the Galliard in Iconography

10:45   Break 
 

11:15  Gabriele Miracle (Amelia, I): Dancing with the Sword. The Gagliarda on the Renaissance Battlefield – introduction (30') & workshop with students (45')
 

12:30   Lunch break 
 

13:30  Hubert Hazebroucq (Conservatoire Régional de Paris/SCB): The Danced Gagliarda at the time of Gastoldi – introduction (30') & workshop with students (90')
 

15:30   Break
 

16:00  Experimental session with different instrumental & vocal combinations and concluding discussion.

17:00   End

Supported by the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft (FAG)