Well said, Arle. I agree wholeheartedly, especially in the case of the Cheveaux, which is, basically, a nice tune for a very boring dance. The other tune Michael refers to, le branle de l'official (to which G. R. Woodward set his "Ding Dong Merrily on High" lyric) is, in contrast, a tune which is fun and satisfying to play at any tempo. The dance itself is also fun. I've always enjoyed playing Official at whatever speed suits whomever I'm playing with, be they musicians or dancers, while with Cheveaux, there's always the inclination to keep stepping up the speed to keep musicians and dancers alike from falling asleep!
On Monday, December 17, 2012 9:35:49 PM UTC-9, Arle Lommel wrote: > > Interesting issue. > > ... > > In the case at hand here, it could be very satisfactory for both player > and dancers, for instance, to start out rather slowly and build up the > tempo until things break down. In the right context, with willing dancers, > I see no reason one could not gradually push Horses Branle up from a > leisurely pace to 130 bpm, leaving everyone pleasantly exhausted and > challenged. I have been a dancer for things like that that were great fun: > at the end you no longer know how to move and that breakdown of knowledge > and sense is very satisfying. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
