Proceedings of the Known World Dance Symposium 2007

Intermediate 15^th century Italian dances with drama

Carey Cates
(Isabel D Triana)

Editor’s note: For the author’s description of steps for these dances, see her article “Beginning 15^th century Italian Dances” earlier in these proceedings.

Mercanzia

15^th century Italian ballo, by Domenico da Piacenza.

A dance for one woman and three men, in a square facing up the hall

Reconstruction by Isabel D Triana

Bar Action

Section I: Dance together and form a triangle

(4 bars of saltarello (6/8) played 3 times)

1 Movimento

2-12 11 Saltarelli, starting on the left foot.

(3 bars of quadernaria (4/4) played twice)

13-18 Men in back separate with six riprese, Man 2 to the left starting with the left foot, Man 3 to the right starting with the right foot

(4 bars of bassadanza (6/4))

19 Woman does a mezavolta counterclockwise, to face down the hall

20-22 Man 1 does three dopii forward, starting on the left foot, and remains facing forward.

Section II: Woman dances with the men in the back of the set

(8 bars of bassadanza (6/4)

23-24 Man 2 approaches the woman with two sempii and a dopio, starting on the left foot, then takes the woman’s hand

25-26 Man 2 does a mezavolta to the right, returning to his place with two sempii and a dopio, starting on the right foot, at the end turning to the right into his place to face up the hall. Meanwhile, the Woman does a volta del gioioso, being a turn with two sempii, starting with the right foot, and a ripresa right

27-30 Man 3 and the Woman dance what Man 2 and the Woman did above

Section III: Man 1 dances with the woman

(1/2 bar of bassadanza (6/4))

30.5 Man 1 does a mezavolta clockwise, to look at the woman’s back

(2 bars of bassadanza (6/4))

31.5-32.5 Man 2 and Man 3 do two saltarelli to change places, starting on the left foot, taking right hands as they pass, ending side by side, facing up the hall

(2 bars of quadernaria (4/4))

33.5-34.5 Man 1 does two saltarelli, left and right, to end up behind and to the left of the woman, and looks at her as if for a joke

(1/2 bar of bassadanza (6/4))

35 Woman does a mezavolta to the right to face up the hall, Meanwhile Man 1 does a ripresa right, to face the woman

Section IV: Reset the square

(4 bars of bassadanza (6/4))

36 Man 1 and Woman touch right hands, and both do a riverentia left

37 Everyone does two continenze, right and left

38-39 Man 2 and Woman do a volta del gioioso, with the woman moving slightly to end in front of Man 2. Meanwhile Man 1 and Man 3 do two sempii and a dopio, staring on the right foot, passing right shoulders. Man 1 goes to Man 3’s place, turning right into place. Man 3 moves forward to beside the woman. Everyone ends facing up the hall, in a square like they started, except that the men have progressed to a new position.

The entire dance then repeats twice more, with each man getting to dance as Man 1.

Notes

· Cornazano has an interesting note about this dance: “Mercantia e ballo appropriato al nome che una sol donna danca con tre homini e da audientia a tutti gli ne fossero pure assai come quell ache fa mercantia d’amanti.” “Mercanzia is a ballo whose name is appropriate, a single woman with three men, and she gives her attention to all as though there were many, as one who is the merchant of lovers.” (Trans. A. W. Smith)

· This reconstruction is very similar to that of Vivian Stephens in “Joy and Jealousy” except in the starting feet at the beginning of the dance, which I prefer to be the same for all dancers, and as noted below. Her reconstruction is available online, http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/Joy-J-book/Mercantia.htm

· For this dance, it is important to size your steps in accordance with the desired ending location. In particular, keep the riprese small, no matter which reconstruction of that step used. Similarly, the volta del gioioso does not appear to travel, except maybe for the woman in bar 38.

· The sections in the dance noted in bold are intended to group the actions of the dance into thematic groups, to aid remembering the dance, and are not intended to match any sections noted in sheet music. The notes about how many measures of which tempii are used for the dance steps that follow are the guide that can be used to correlate that dance steps to sheet music.

· Bar 19 The text does not say what steps to use for the mezavolta. Stephens suggests using a doppio left in her reconstruction, to fill the time, but as it is not specified in the manuscript, other steps such as a single step or a pivot are also possible interpretations.

· Bar 35 The text says “facendo vista di guardar la chome per schirço”, which Smith translates as “pretends to see her jokingly”.

Music

Where the manuscripts differed in their descriptions, the manuscript Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Ital. 972 (Smith: PnD) was used, so that the reconstruction and music were based on the same manuscript. Smith and others report that there are no ambiguities in the music. Monica Cellio has a nice arrangement in “Joy and Jealousy” available online, http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/~praetzel/ellisif.html

Sources Consulted

· Smith, A. William, Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music Twelve Transcribed Italian Treatises and Collections in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacenza, 2 vols., Pendragon Press, Stuyvesant, NY, c.1995. (ISBN 0-945193-25-4 vol.1 and 0-945193-57-2 vol.2)

· Sparti, Barbara, trans. and ed. De Practica Seu Arte Tripudii On the Practice or Art of Dancing, Guglielmo Ebreo of Pesaro, original author, Oxford University Press, New York, c. 1993. (ISBN 0-19-816233-2)

· Stephens, Vivian and Monica Cellio, Joy and Jealousy A Manual of 15th-Century Italian Balli, Real Soon Now Press, Pittsburgh PA, 1997. (Also available on the web, see site above)

· Wilson, D. R., The Steps Used in Court Dancing in Fifteenth-Century Italy, 3^rd ed., Victoire Press Ltd, Bar Hill, Cambs, UK, c.2004 (ISBN 0-9519307-3-7)

Permission given to reproduce for nonprofit, educational purposes, provided this notice is included.

Sobria 15^th century Italian ballo, by Domenico da Piacenza. A dance for one woman and five men, in a line of couples facing up the hall Reconstruction by Isabel D Triana Bar Action
Section I; Dance together and form a square (5 bars of saltarello (3/4) played 3 times) 1 Movimento 2-15 14 Saltarelli, starting on the left foot. (10 bars of piva (2/4)) 16-19 Man 1 and Woman do not move. The other men separate with four riprese away from each other, to form a large square. Man 2 and 4 go to the left starting with the left foot, Man 3 and 5 to the right starting with the right foot
20-22 Man 1 and Woman take right hands and do a voltatonda as a couple, with three pive, starting on the left foot. Man 1 ends facing up the hall, and the woman facing down 23-25 Woman continues with three pive into the center of the square formed earlier by the men. Woman ends with a mezavolta to face the back of her partner, Man 1 Section II: The men try to take the woman’s hand (4 bars of bassadanza (6/4) played 3 times) 26 Man 2 and 3 approach the woman with a doppio starting on the right foot
27 Man 2 and 3 do a riverentia on the left foot, and both try to touch the hand of the woman at the same time. Then the Woman steps back a small step, as if indignant 28 (Beat 1) Woman, Man 2 and Man 3 all do a mezavolta, stepping or pivoting on the left foot to turn their backs on each other. (Beats 2-3) Man 2 and Man 3 do a salteto (assumedly a hop on left foot) then (Beats 4-6) start a saltarello right, to return to their places in the square. 29 (Beats 1-3) Man 2 and Man 3 complete the saltarello started in the previous bar. (Beat 4) The men do a small turn inward to face each other and (Beat 5) end with a posa (place the second foot beside the first, with weight on both feet) (Beat 6) Pause.
30-33 Man 4, Man 5, and the Woman repeat what was danced in bars 26-29, everyone ending in their original positions in the square, with the woman facing up the hall. 34-35 Man 1 turns to face the woman. Man 1 and Woman approach each other with two sempii and a doppio, starting on the left foot. They end with a small, fast riverentia, touching hands 36-37 Man 1 and Woman return to their places, Man 1 above the square, and Woman centered in it, with two doppii, starting on the right foot. Man 1 ends facing up the hall, and the Woman facing down
Section III: The men gesture behind the woman’s back (3 bars of quadernaria (4/4)) 38-39 Man 2 and Man 3 do two saltarelli, left and right, to change places, passing by right shoulders 40 Man 2 and Man 3 do another saltarello, curing toward the woman, to end up side-by-side behind her (3 bars in bassadanza (6/4)) 41 Man 2 gestures with his right hand to Man 3, pointing at the woman 42 Man 3 responds, gesturing with his left hand to Man 2, that he does not want to do it
43 (Beats 1-2) Woman senses the actions of the men behind her and (Beats 3-4) does a mezavolta to face them, with her face as if angered. Man 2 and Man 3 also do a mezavolta, to the left, then (Beats 5-6) do a salteto (hop on the left foot) (1.5 bars in quadernaria (4/4)) 44 Man 2 and Man 3 do a saltarello, starting on the right foot, to their new places, with Man 3 on the left side of the set, and Man 2 on the right side of the set 44.5 Man 2 and Man 3 do a mezavolta (left) to face each other, and do a posa (put second foot beside the first, to stand with equal weight.)
(3 bars of quadernaria (4/4), 3 bars in bassadanza (6/4), and1.5 bars in quadernaria (4/4)) 44.5-52 Man 4, Man 5, and Woman repeat the steps danced by Man 2, Man 3, and Woman in bars 38-44.5. Man 5 ends on the left side of the set, Man 4 on the right side of the set, and the Woman facing up the hall. Section IV: The woman and her partner go about the other men with S curves
(10 bars of saltarello (3/4) 53-60 Man 1 and Woman do eight saltarelli, with Man 1 weaving around Man 2 and Man 3, and Woman weaving around Man 4 and Man 5, in an S curve. The Woman passes in front of her first man, and Man 1 passes behind his first man.
61-62 Man 1 and Woman take hands briefly, and do two more saltarelli. Woman uses her two saltarelli to do a voltatonda, back in her place at the center of the square, and Man 1 uses his to return to his place above and outside of the square.
Section V: Changing places and trying to trap the woman and her partner
(4 bar of piva (2/4) played three times) 63-66 The men in the square do four pive to trade places with their partners (Man 2 and 3 trade, and Man 4 and 5 trade). Meanwhile Man 1 does a voltatonda with 4 pive.
67-70 The men in the square do four pive to trade places with the men above/below them in the square (Man 2 and Man 4 trade, and Man 3 and Man 5 trade). Meanwhile Woman does a voltatonda with 4 pive, and Man 1 uses his 4 pive to move to beside the Woman, both of who end facing up the hall.
71-74 The men in the square do 4 riprese inward, toward the center of the square. Meanwhile, Man 1 joins hands with the Woman and they do four pive forward, toward the front of the hall, to escape from the men closing in on them.