Basse Dance Bibliography

These are the various sources I've gathered over the past several years related to basse dances or 15th (and 16th) century music. Any additions to this list would be gratefully received.

Primary Sources, Dance (in translation):

Arbeau, Thoinot[1589]

Orchésographie., Mary Stewart Evans (trans.) [1948] Reprinted by Dover, 1967 with additional material by Julia Sutton. Important 16th Century text gives late form of the basse dance.

Brussels

Manuscript 9085, Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. Facsimile and transcription in Ernest Closson (ed.) [1976] Le Manuscrit dit des Basses Danses de la Bibliothèque de Bourgogne. Minkoff Reprint. Principle source of 15th Century basse dance choreographies. A transcription of the Brussels MS is available on line from Institute of Historical Dance in Belgium.

Cornazano, Antonio [1455]

Libro dell'Arte del Danzare. Madeline Inglehearn and Peggy Forsyth (Trans.) The Book on The Art of Dancing. [1981], Dance Books, Ltd. Treatise on early 15th Century Italian dances, including bassadanza.

Coplande, Robert [1521]

the maner of dauncynge of bace daunces after the use of fraunce & other places, London. The Pear Tree Press, Flansham, Bognor Regis, Sussex, 1937. The complete text, in modernized spelling, in M. Dolmetsch, Dances of England and France from 1450 to 1600, London, 1949. English edition of the Burgundian basse dance corpus.

Ebreo, Guglielmo [1463]

De Pratica seu arte tripudii. Translated with notes by Barbara Sparti [1993] On the Practice or Art of Dancing Oxford University Press. One of the sources for the Italian basse dance corpus.

Salisbury, Cathedral Library copy of Johannes Balbus de Janua. Catholicon

Flyleaf contains 20 basse dances. transcription of the Salisbury MS is available on line from Institute of Historical Dance in Belgium.

Toulouze, Michel [1488?]

L'art et Instruction de Bien Dancer, Paris. Reprinted in facsimile with translation by A. E. Lequet and musical transcription by Richard Rastall, S.R. Publishers, Ltd. [1971]. With B, this book is one of the important sources for the 15th Century basse dance.

Primary Sources, Music (in translation):

Attaingant, Pierre[1530]

Neuf Basse Dances Deux Branles Vignt et Cinq Pavans avec Quinq Galliards en Music a Quatre Partes. Bernard Thomas (ed.) London Pro Musica, AD1. 16th Century dance music collection, probably belongs with basse dance as described in Arena or Arbeau.

Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus[500?]

De Institutione Musica Calvin Bower (trans.) [1989] Fundamentals of Music, Yale University Press. Very important theoretical treatise had limited effect on 15th and 16th Century practice of music.

Brussels

Manuscript 9085, Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. Facsimile and transcription in Ernest Closson (ed.) [1976] Le Manuscrit dit des Basses Danses de la Bibliothèque de Bourgogne. Minkoff Reprint. Principle source of 15th Century basse dance tenors.

Buxheim

Buxheim Organ book, 1450--1470, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, shelf-mark Cim. 352b ( olim 3725). In Bernard Thomas, ed. [1981] Music from the Buxheim Organ Book: Vol. I. Chanson intabulations and basse dance settings., London Pro Musica EK4. Written out improvizations around basse dance tenors.

Cornazano, Antonio [1455]

Libro dell'Arte del Danzare. Madeline Inglehearn and Peggy Forsyth (Trans.) The Book on The Art of Dancing. [1981], Dance Books, Ltd. Gives tenors for use with bassadanza.

Ebreo, Guglielmo [1463]

De Pratica seu arte tripudii. Translated with notes by Barbara Sparti [1993] On the Practice or Art of Dancing Oxford University Press. Contains tunes for 15th C. Italian Bali.

Isaac, Heinrich[1494??]

Misse La Spagna, In Edward R. Lerner (ed.) [1974] Heinrich Isaac, Opera Omine, volume 7 American Institute of Musicology. Agnus Dei II given in 2 ``La Spanga'' settings of the late fifteenth century, London Pro Musica, EML 120, 1987. The Agnus Dei II is also given in Gombossi as anonymous, but found in the manuscript Liepzig 1494 (the 1494 may be a dating of the manuscript of just a numbering without any implied dating, although the date is consistent with Isaac's productive period). My favorite setting of the La Spagna tenor is easier to play than many.

Gafurius, Franchinus[1496]

Practica Musicae. Irwin Young (tr.) [1969] The Practica Musicae of Franchinus Gafurius. University of Wisconsin Press. 15th Century Counterpoint instructions roughly contemporary with B and T.

Gafurius, Franchinus[1492]

Theoretica Musicae. Walter K. Kreyszig (trans.) [1993] The Theory of Music, Yale University Press. Attempt to modernize the theoretical material in Boethius.

Ortiz, Diego [1553]

Tratado de glosas sobre clausulas y otros generos de puntos en la musica de violones. Rome. Max Schneider (transcription) [1936] B&aauml;renreiter-Verlag. Although about 50 years after B & T, it gives instructions for improvising over a tenor line which match contemporary counterpoint. It is also a good source for improvisational motifs.

Tinctoris, Johannes [1477]

Liber de Arte Contrapuncti, Naples. Albert Seay (Trans.) [1961] The Art of Counterpoint, Musicological Studies and Documents, 5

, American Institue of Musicology. Treatise on counterpoint from roughly the same time as B and T. It gives instructions for counterpoint in perfect tempus.

Toulouze, Michel [1488?]

L'art et Instruction de Bien Dancer, Paris. Reprinted in facsimile with translation by A. E. Lequet and musical transcription by Richard Rastall, S.R. Publishers, Ltd. [1971]. Contains tenors for many of the basse dances. This book is one of the first to print music using movable type.

Zarlino, Gioseffo [1558]

``The Art of Counterpoint'' Part three of Le Istitutioni Harmoniche. Guy A. Marco and Claude V. Palisca (trans.), The Art of Counterpoint, Yale University Press. Counterpoint treatise from roughly 50 years after B and T. Note that another part of this book is the first theoretical recognition of major and minor triads.

Secondary Sources, Dance:

Brainard, Ingrid [1971]

Three Court Dances of the the Early Renaissance. New York, Dance Notation Bureau.

Brainard, Ingrid [1981]

The Art of Courtly Dancing in the Early Renaissance. Self-published preliminary edition.

Crane, Fredrick [1968]

Materials for the Study of the 15th Century Basse Dance. Musicological Studies, Vol. XVI. The Institute of Medi\ae val Music, Ltd. Complete concordances of known basse dance choreographies.

Kinkeldey, Otto [1929]

A Jewish Dancing Master of the Renaissance: Guglielmo Ebreo. Dance Horizons reprint, 1966.

Kronenfeld, Nathan[1993]

(Daniel of Falling Rocks) ``Burgundian Basse Dance: A reconstruction of the Brussels MS'' Letter of Dance, No. 16, June, AS XXVIII, 2--20.

Smith, A. William [1995]

Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music: Twelve Transcribed Italian Treatises and Collection in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacenza. Pendragon Press (two volumes). Collected transcriptions and music from all known 15th Century Italian treatises with english translations and table of differences.

Secondary Sources, Music:

Bukofzer, M. [1950]

Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music. Identification and classification of a number of pieces as basse dances, including Falla con misuras by Guilielmus.

Crane, Fredrick [1968]

Materials for the Study of the 15th Century Basse Dance. Musicological Studies, Vol. XVI. The Institute of Medi\ae val Music, Ltd. Complete concordances of known basse dance tenors, including references to chansons and polyphonic settings.

Gauldin, Robert [1985]

A practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint. Prentice-Hall. Palestrina style counterpoint.

Gombossi, Otto [1955]

``The Cantus Firmus Dances.'' Chapter VI of the introduction to Vincenzo Capriola's Lute Book. A look at the music of the basse dance and related improviations over cantus firmus. Three Spanga settings occur in the Lute Book.

Jeppesen, Knud [1931]

Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the Sixteenth Century. Glen Haydon (trans.) [1939], Prentice Hall. Palestrina style counterpoint.

Meylan, Raymond[1968]

L'énigme des basse danse du quinzième siècle. Berne. ersity of California Press. Exaustive analysis of the basse dance tunes.

Smith, A. William [1995]

Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music: Twelve Transcribed Italian Treatises and Collection in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacenza. Pendragon Press (two volumes). Collected transcriptions and music from all known 15th Century Italian treatises with transcriptions of music.

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