- Terpsichore is a collection of French dances which Praetorius published in 1612, the only remaining example of his secular compositions.1
- According to his Syntygma musicum, the collection was intended to be much longer: he said the rest of the material was “almost ready but not yet in print.” This additional music is lost.2
- Terpsichore is the Greek muse of dance. In his writing about this piece, Praetorius says that Terpsichore derives from the Greek to “to enjoy” and “dances” (not sure if this is super accurate Greek but it’s a charming idea on Praetorius’s part)3
- Many of the dances are collected and arranged by Praetorius, not necessarily originally composed by him.4
ENCO Cut # 14609: Ballet des Baccanales – Ballet des feus – Ballet des Matelotz
- Movement Titles in English:
Ballet of the Baccanale
Ballet of the Fires
Ballet of the Sailors
ENCO Cut # 18082: Suite of Voltas
- This selection: Volta (name from Italian for “turn”)is a dance from Provence. It was fashionable at the French court from the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries.
- Volta required dancers to hold each other in a close embrace while dancing. It’s the only court dance of its time to be so intimate.5
Sources
- Walter Blankenburg and Clytus Gottwald, “Praetorius [Schultheiss, Schultze], Michael,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed December 19, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000022253.
- Ibid.
- Liner notes to Praetorius: Dances from Terpsichore, Westra Aros Pijpare, Lena Hellström-Färnlöf, Ensemble Bourrasque, Bertil Färnlöf, Naxos 8.553865, CD, 1998.
- Ibid.
- Robert Donington, “Volta (i),” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed December 19, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000029657.
Cut IDs
14609, 18082