Arbeau's Opening Set of Branles

• Era: mid-1500s

"I have noted that in good company, one ordinarily begins a dance with branles."
          -- Capriol to Arbeau in a dialogue from Orchésographie; my translation. 

When Thoinot Arbeau (pseudonym of Jehan Tabourot) published his book of dances, Orchésographie (available in English translation as Orchesography), in the late 1580s, he began his discussion of branles with a set of four easy branles with which he said musicians customarily opened a dance: Branle Double, Branle Simple, Branle Gay, and Branle de Bourgoigne (Burgundy).  He further explains that the four were danced by different age groups: the elderly would dance the first two "gravely," the young married people would dance the third, and the youngest would "lightly" or "nimbly" ("legierement" = modern "légèrement") dance the fourth.

Performance
Formation: a line or circle of people holding hands.  Couples (men to the left of their partners) were the standard, but there are no gender-specific moves in this set of branles.  New couples joining in should attach themselves to the trailing lady rather than usurping the place of the leading gentleman.  All steps are taken sideways, rather than forward and back.  Steps should be small (about shoulder-width); hops and kicks should be restrained and fairly gentle.  The line or circle moves slowly to the left, as steps in that direction are made slightly larger than steps to the right.

Translation of terms from French into English
Double: double (sideways step-together-step-close)
Simple: single (sideways step-close)
Greve or pied en l'air: kick

When performing a kick, the dancer should hop on one foot and kick the given foot gently forward.  So for a "kick left," one hops on the right foot and kicks the left foot forward.  A greve is a more vigorous kick than a pied en l'air but is otherwise the same; the original notation for the Branle de Bourgoigne gives either as suitable.

(left, illustration of "greve gauche," or "kick left")

1. Branle Double:  Double left.  Double right.

Counts/Steps
1-4     Step left, close right, step left, close right  (double left)
5-8     Step right, close left, step right, close left (double right)  

2. Branle Simple:  Double left.  Single right.

Counts/Steps
1-4     Step left, close right, step left, close right  (double left)
5-6     Step right, close left  (single right)

3. Branle Gay:  Kick right, kick left, kick right, kick left, pause

Counts/Steps
1-3     Kick right, kick left, kick right
4-6     Kick left and pause for two beats 

4. Branle de Bourgoigne:  Double left.  Double right. (with kicks)

Counts/Steps
1-4     Step left, close right, step left, kick right  (double left)
5-8     Step right, close left, step right, kick left (double right)

While the first, second, and fourth branles in this set are very basic combinations of doubles with the occasional single or kick thrown in, Branle Gay is more interesting.  The name "gay" is  suggestive of a connection with the popular 16th-century galliard.  The musical rhythm is that of a galliard (1-2-3-4...6), and the step pattern very close to Arbeau's basic galliard pattern; only a cadence on the sixth count is missing.  In its absence, there is no change of foot, and Arbeau is specific that the branle is danced in one direction (moving to the left) only, rather than as freely traveling as a galliard might be.

Recordings for Dancing
Wolgemut's delightful Tempus Saltandi contains all four of these branles, as does the New York Renaissance Band's Thoinot Arbeau: The Music of Arbeau's Orchesographie (now out of print, though individual MP3 files of each tune can be purchased).  The Broadside Band's Danses Populaires Francaises includes a suite of all four branles on one track, though with inconveniently-timed pauses between them and with Branle Gay repeated enough times to exasperate.  And finally, Compagnie Maître Guillaume's Dance Music Of The French Renaissance includes a lovely set of Branles Simples by Moderne.  These are different tunes from Arbeau's, but the same dance pattern fits.

(See the next post in this series for an explanation of how to ornament these branles by adding additional kicks!)