Branle

What it means

The branle is a French group dance of the Renaissance in which the dancers dance in a chain or in a circle and move back and forth with sideways steps. The name derives from branler, “to sway, to rock,” and describes this sideways movement.

The branle was not a single form but a whole family of dances with different step sequences, metres, and tempi. There were slow and fast, duple and triple branles, and many bore regional epithets. What they had in common was the design as a communal dance in which everyone present could take part.

The branle is to be distinguished from the couple dances of the period such as the galliard or the pavane, in which couples performed individually.

In the notation

Branles are transmitted in dance collections of the sixteenth century, usually as short sections to be repeated several times. The melodies are plain and rhythmically clear, the setting often in several parts for an instrumental ensemble. Modern editions transcribe them into present-day notation and occasionally add indications of scoring that are missing from the sources.

Musical use

In the sixteenth century the branle was one of the most frequently danced dances in France and spread from there to other countries. Series of branles often opened the dance evenings. Musically they were played by instrumental ensembles whose make-up varied. In later music history, branles are occasionally quoted as an archaic dance.

In the branle the dancers moved sideways in a line or circle, with alternating steps to the left and right. There were numerous regional forms with their own names and metres. Thoinot Arbeau described them in 1589 in his Orchésographie. The branle often opened a ball and was also popular at court.

Performance practice

Keep the rhythm taut and even; a communal dance needs a reliable pulse. Bring out the stresses clearly. Vary scoring or ornamentation on repeats, as was customary in the practice of the time. And find out about the dance steps — they explain tempo and articulation.