This recording primarily presents works from four important Italian dance treatises composed between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Two of these treatises are by Fabritio Caroso, while one each was written by Cesare Negri and Livio Lupi. Harpsichord pieces by Antonio Gardane, Antonio Valente, Giovanni Maria Radino, and Giovanni Picchi are also included. The band has additionally arranged several works by Mainerio and adapted a vocal piece by Giovanni Gastoldi. Further contemporary sources were consulted for comparative purposes.
The dance treatises contain compositions preserved as lute tablatures with melodic lines and occasionally notated bass parts on stave staffs. However, these notations do not provide complete instructions for a multi-part ensemble. Therefore, for arrangements for two or three instruments, the melodies repeatedly presented in the lute tablature served as a rough guide. The authors' primary intention was to enable dancers to learn the steps, not to create comprehensive scores for dance ensembles. The Broadside Band developed their arrangements for this program directly from the original sources.
Although the treatises were aimed at a courtly and wealthy audience, the music they contain is characterized by great stylistic diversity. It ranges from extensive, multi-movement dances such as the Balletti Celeste Giglio and Alta Carretta to popular, catchy tunes like Allegrezza d’Amore and La Nizzarda. Little is known about the composers; it is likely that the authors of the treatises themselves contributed to the compositions, as dance masters of that era were often also musicians. After the prescribed repetitions, nine dances were played, resulting in Il Canario being performed a total of forty-two times.
The pieces written for keyboard instruments date from 1551 to 1621 and show only minor stylistic changes over seven decades. The melodies are accompanied by simple chords, often resulting in chord progressions with parallel fifths. This sonic structure provides a strong resonance on the harpsichord and lends the compositions a pronounced rhythmic liveliness, ideally suited for dancing. In contrast, a sophisticated piano style developed in England at the same time, which, with elaborate ornamentation and contrapuntal structures, often overlaid the original dance character. Many of the dances presented here are based on popular bass lines or chord progressions of that era, with the Passamezzo antico being particularly noteworthy.