Masque
English court masque with music, dance and poetry (16th/17th century).
What it means
The masque was a festive stage entertainment at the English courts of the 16th and 17th centuries. It combined poetry, song, instrumental music, dance, costumes and elaborate scenery into an allegorical tribute, usually to the monarch or to a distinguished couple. Members of the court, often disguised or masked, joined in the dancing themselves.
Musical use
The masque reached its peak under James I and Charles I. Among the best-known contributors are the poet Ben Jonson and the architect Inigo Jones, who designed the scenery and stage machinery; the music was supplied by composers such as Thomas Campion, Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger and Henry Lawes. Milton's Comus of 1634, with music by Lawes, is a late literary example. The court masque came to an end with the upheavals of the 1640s and the closing of the theatres.
It should be distinguished from opera, in which the music carries the drama: in the masque, text, dance and scenery remain equal partners, and the appearance of the nobles is the focus. The term later lived on in English musical theatre, applied to stage works described as masques.
Performance practice
When you play music from a masque, keep its link with dance and text in mind. Dance movements call for a clear, danceable pulse, songs for distinct diction.