Music and Dance in the Ancien Régime

Abstract

This chapter explores the contribution French noble dance made to the topical universe available to composers in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The chapter reviews the culture of dance in theancien régimeand offers a detailed analysis of the relationship between music and dance in a bourrée; the choreography for this bourrée was preserved in dance notation and published in 1700. This analysis suggests that topical references to French dance types had the potential to summon knowledge of a sort that was deeply embodied. The chapter concludes with a discussion of different ways dance music was employed by composers of instrumental and theatrical music during the eighteenth century.

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