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1 The "passo doppio" and the "contrapasso" in the Italian "balli" of the Fifteenth Century: Problems of Mensuration and a Conjectural Reconstruction Author(s): Mauro Lo Monaco, Sergio Vinciguerra, Diana Cruickshank Source: Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Summer, 2005), pp Published by: Edinburgh University Press Stable URL: Accessed: 21/12/ :45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Edinburgh University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research.

2 The passo doppio and the contrapasso in the Italian balli of the Fifteenth Century: Problems of Mensuration and a Conjectural Reconstruction1 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA Translation Diana Cruickshank IN SEARCH OF THE 'MEXURA MUSICALE' That the art known as HI bel danzare" (excellence in dance) was not easy to acquire was eminently clear to the dancing masters of the fifteenth century. In compiling the treatises in which they recorded the music and choreographic descriptions of the best known bassedanze and balli of their age, they were aware of the need to devote considerable space to elaborating those rules to which the 'bono dangatore' (good dancer) should give the greatest attention in order to merit that title. Such rules, first detailed by Domenico da Piacenza2 in the earliest Italian treatise on dance known to us, were equally stressed in the subsequent treatises produced by two of his followers, Antonio Cornazano3 and Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro.4 These rules were not so much concerned with describing 'mouimenti naturali' and 'accidental^ which, today, we term 'steps' and 'ornaments', as with the variety of natural talents and acquired skills that will transform a basic sequence of steps into dance. Some, such as memory, the ability to apportion space during the performance of a dance, or the need to execute the several movements in perfect correspondence with the music, may seem to us straightforward and obvious. Others remain difficult to understand if not totally mysterious, because they relate to cultural norms and a code of manners no longer familiar to us. It is clear that as much attention had to be paid to maintaining the correct 'rnexura musichale' (i.e. dancing a tempo), as to dancing in accordance with the musical mode in which each passage is composed (b-molle [B flat] or b-quadro [T> natural]); an aspect of performance that probably had more to do with interpretation than with pure technique. Furthermore, how far the dancer was at liberty to improvise - to replace certain step sequences with others of equal duration or misura, or to introduce the ornamental movimenti accidentali - is information presented in an extremely fragmentary manner. And always the question remains: to what extent were such modifications deemed to be in good or in poor taste? That standards of good taste were not universal but varied from

3 52 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA one court to another, or even within one particular court, according to the different requirements of public or private performance, may seem obvious to us, even if somewhat ill defined (see also Sparti 1985). It becomes increasingly apparent, however, that severe limitations are imposed on our attempts to achieve a real understanding of this art. Nevertheless, great possibilities exist for those who attempt, through the study and interpretation of measure in the written records of both music and dance, to establish the true correspondence between steps and music. To rediscover that 'mexura musichale' mentioned by Domenico, Cornazano and Guglielmo, must be the starting point for the reconstruction of these dances. THE SOURCES The material available for making a mensural study of quattrocento dance currently consists of thirteen manuscripts, comprising treatises and collections of dances datable between c.1455 and 1517 (Table I).5 Of these manuscripts, only four, here referred to as Pd, Pg, Pa and Y contain musical notations relating to the given choreographies. Twenty-three of these notations relate to the choreographic descriptions of balli, while three are non-specific 'tenors' for bassedanze (Kinkeldey 1959, Marrocco 1981). There are, however, additional dance descriptions. One hundred and two choreographic descriptions relating to dances composed by Domenico6 have come down to us more or less directly through treatise Pd (see Note ii) and the treatises of Gornazano and Guglielmo, not to mention several copies of those treatises and other more or less fragmentary dance collections (Table II). This is a corpus of material that lends itself admirably to the collation of musical notations and dance descriptions and to the comparison of the two. THE COLLATION OF THE TEXTS AND THE 'CHOREOGRAPHIC EQUIVALENTS' IN THE BALL! OF DOMENICO Past attempts to collate the musical notations contained in these treatises have not produced unanimous results (Kinkeldey 1959, Marrocco 1981, Smith 1987 [a]). One reason for this lack of agreement arises from the existence of notable inconsistencies, even within a single treatise, between the theoretical principles of notation of the period and the actual notations, particularly with regard to the mensural signs used to indicate relative tempo and prolation (Sparti 1986). It is difficult to say how many of these inconsistencies arise from scribal error and how many rather reflect a conventional usage that remains still unclear to us. Such discrepancies, already apparent in the music, become major problems when one attempts to compare the musical notation with the ostensible timing of the steps given in the dance descriptions. It is generally possible to identify, within the texts, the individual 'choreographic sections' that correspond to the 'musical sections' indicated in the notation7 (Fig. 1). However, it is not always possible, within each 'choreo-

4 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 53 graphic section', to arrive at a perfect correspondence between the music and the steps, because of an apparent surplus of either one or the other. Considerable help in the study of the mensuration of such dances comes from the comparative analysis of the descriptions of a single dance taken from different sources. Such textual analysis often makes it possible to define choreographic sequences that are incomplete or scarcely intelligible in some manuscripts, yet can be clarified by comparison with parallel texts in other treatises. Such comparative study has shown how, in the several versions of the same dance, some of the step sequences may be replaced by different sequences of the same mensural value. These sequences may be termed 'choreographic equivalents', by which we mean step sequences which, either according to the wishes of a dancing master or the preference of a particular dancer, may be utilised as an alternative to the original because they are of equal measure. In contrast to work done on the musical notations, no major study has been attempted in the comparative analysis of the choreographic texts of the Italian treatises and the dance collections from the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, although there are examples of such analyses with reference to a single dance (Francalanci 1985, Smith 1987 [a], Thomas 1978). What follows presents some data arising from the comparative analysis of the choreographic texts of a number of balli by Domenico, as found in the treatise Pd and other manuscripts (Table II). CHOICE OF FIELD OF STUDY AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH The balli by Domenico have been chosen as the field of study because they present an extremely homogeneous source. As Pd, f. 5r, states - 'le infrascripte dange sono composte cusi il canto come le parole per lo spectabile & egregio cavagliero misser Domenico da piacenga' (the dances written below have been composed, both the music and the words, by the respected and distinguished knight, master Domenico of Piacenza). This material comes to us, more or less directly, either through Domenico himself (Pd) or through other writers. These have, over a period that embraces the second half of the fifteenth century and the first two decades of the century following, occasionally introduced partial reworking of the choreographies in accordance with either their own personal taste or that of the dedicatee of their treatises. The aim of this present study is to determine choreographic equivalents within the several versions of any one dance, in an attempt to rediscover the mensural value of those step sequences which are of uncertain duration or which, outwardly at least, do not accord with the given musical notation. Although there are no comprehensive descriptions of the correct way to perform the movimenti naturali, still less for the movimenti accidental^ the 'measure' of the individual movements (or, in modern terms, the duration of the steps expressed as a number of musical beats) can be found in Domenico's treatise, Pd, and in the subsequent treatises - V, M, S and NY. Table III lists all these movimenti, both naturali and accidental^ giving the corresponding mensural values as laid down in these five treatises.8

5 54 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA THE CONTRAPASSO AND ITS PRECURSORS The first problem is to determine what significance should be attached to finding the contrapasso, a step not known in Domenico's time, in the later descriptions of his balli by Cornazano and Guglielmo; and to consider whether its introduction corresponds to the needs, aesthetic or otherwise, of Cornazano and Guglielmo or whether it might have been derived, in some way, from features already discernible in Domenico's own work. The first mention of the contrapasso occurs in 1465, when Cornazano (V, f. 6v) writes: Nel saltarello oltre gli soipassi naturali campeggiati & ondeggiati sicondo el modo dicto di sopra e hello alia donna intermischiargli alcune cose di dolce maniera come e dui passi sempi campeggiati & ondeggiati in uno solo tempo e talhora tre contrapassi in dui tempo et siponnofare queste due cose Vuna detro a Valtra In the saltarello, in addition to its own natural steps, campeggiati and ondeggiati in the manner described above, it is nice if the lady introduces some gentle movements like two passi sempi campeggiati & ondeggiati9 in any one tempo and, occasionally, three contrapassi in two tempi and these two things may be done one after the other. In this paragraph, addressed to the ladies, the author has given a clear indication of the timing of three contrapassi as two templ. He also offers an explicit example of the existence of a difference in dance style for men and for women and a valuable indication of the amount of freedom granted to the dancer in using specific choreographic equivalents. As Table II shows, the contrapasso was mainly used in the second half of the fifteenth century and the earlier decades of the sixteenth. It appears in nine of the seventeen dances by Domenico as recorded in treatises written later than Pd. (Tessara is omitted because it is not recorded in any other manuscript.) In order to understand patterns in the occurrence of the contrapasso in the balli studied here, it will be helpful to compare the texts in some detail. 'LIONZELLO IN DUE': PASSI DOPPI AND CONTRAPASSI Table IV shows the sequence of steps in 'Lionzello for two5 in the ten treatises which record this dance. Horizontal divisions, marked A to G, indicate the choreographic sections (see Note vii) which correspond to the musical sections of the melody (Fig. 1). Some of these (C, E, F, G) are identical in all the treatises, or offer only minor variations: for example, instead of the original movimento in section G, FN, FL and NY use the word scossetto, S uses squassetto; N has translated this into allzada while Ven asks for continence. Other sections, while offering distinct variations, show a marked similarity in the way in which they group the step-sequences (A, B, D). Section B in Pd contains two identical passages containing two movimenti followed by one 'saltarello largo' in tempo di quadernaria. In Pg and Pa, a doppio is asked for in place of the saltarello while, in other treatises, two scossetti, allzade or scosse replace the movimenti Section A, in Pd and M, consists of three repeated sequences of two saltarellin quadernaria each. In Pg and Pa,

6 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 55 Fig. 1. Musical notations for 'Lionzello for two' as given in treatises Pd, Pg and Pa. Arabic numbers placed above the staff indicate the 'musical sections'. Latin letters indicate the corresponding choreographic sections. these appear as three doppi; in S and Ven as three contrapassi; in FN, FL and NY as four contrapassi] and, in N, as two contrapassi, plus a single contrapasso with a ripresa. Similarly, Section D shows the same groupings of contrapassi and doppi, the pas si doppi notably also being used in Pd and M.10 Fig. 1 presents the musical sections of 'Lionzello in due' as they correspond to the choreographic sections in Pd, Pg and Pa. The first musical section in Pd, matching choreographic sections A and B, contains two tempi of quadernaria

7 56 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA and carries an indication to repeat it five times. Section 2, corresponding to choreographic section G, has three tempi of quadernaria, to be repeated twice. In Pa, this second musical section is preceded by two sections (la and lb), both of two tempi of quadernaria, with repeat signs for three times (la) and twice (lb). The two sections relate to choreographic sections A and B, respectively. The sum of ten tempi is identical in the two treatises and the version given in Pa must be considered as a variant of the earlier one, the altered melodic line underscoring the differences between sections A and B. The music given in Pg is identical to that in Pd, the only difference being that Pg indicates a quadruple repeat instead of the five times of Pd - probably a scribal error.11 Musical section 2, corre- sponding to choreographic section C, consists of three tempi of quadernaria. There are no problems here. Section 3 in Pd and Pa contains two tempi of quadernaria, with minimal melodic differences, and asks for two repetitions. In Pg, however, the two tempi are two minims short: it would seem likely that this is also a scribal error (see Note xi). Section 4, which corresponds to choreographic sections E and F, contains, in all, thirteen tempi of bassadanza and section 5, corresponding to choreographic section G, gives one tempo (as two half tempi) of quadernaria. Neither of these presents any problem if the superfluous semibreve in the tenth tempo of bassadanza in Pa may be considered as a scribal error. A comparison of the mensural value of the steps described in the several versions of this dance with the music recorded in Pd shows a perfect correspondence in five sections: B - 4 tempi of quadernaria, C - six tempi also of quadernaria, E - six tempi of bassadanza, F - seven tempi of bassadanza, and G - one tempo of quadernaria. On the other hand, sections A and D present apparent inconsistencies since the music for both, which yields two tempi of quadernaria, accords well with the two passi di saltarello (Pd, section A) but is also required to accompany three doppi (Pd, section D, and Pg and Pa, sections A and D) or four contrapassi (FN, FL and NY) or two contrapassi + one contrapasso with a ripresa (N). The question then arises whether the differences seen in the several texts of Lionzello may not reflect subsequent changes in the music. Although the study of the texts in Pd, Pg and Pa has thrown up certain differences, none of these has shown a variation which might justify the apparent surplus of passi doppi seen in sections A and D, mentioned above. The comparison of the music given here seems to confirm that the two tempi of quadernaria which agree well with the two passi di saltarello in section A of Pd must also correspond with the three passi doppi recorded in sections A and D of Pg and Pa, as well as section D of Pd (Table IV). SEQUENCES OF THREE 'PASSI DOPPI* AND THREE 'PASSI DOPPI IN SUL PIE': A DIFFERENT MENSURAL VALUE One solution to this apparent incongruity may be provided by the application of different mensural values to sequences of passi doppi when they occur on their own. The treatises present these sequences in two distinct ways. The first usually

8 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 57 indicates the foot that begins and the foot that finishes the sequence (e.g. comenzando alpede sinestro efazandojine al drito - beginning with the left and ending with the right). The second, which is generally found in connection with three passi doppi appears, variously, as: n... - doppii suso el pie...; - suso elpiede...; - su lo piede...; -sulpe...; - in sulpede...; - sulpie...; etc. It becomes apparent that these two methods of describing passi doppi correspond to different mensural values. The texts of 'Belreguardo vecchio' and 'nuovo' in Pd provide a good example (Table V). Section B of this hallo presents a sequence of iom passi doppi (which, in 'Belreguardo nuovo5 is divided into two sequences of two doppi) and two sequences of three doppi described as Hn sul pie\ In this section, as in Sections A and B of 'Lionzello', there is an apparent mismatch between the text and the music. The eleven tempi of bassadanza in the music do not accord easily with the thirteen tempi apparently present in the choreography. In 'Belreguardo vecchio', Domenico makes clear the rhythm of the first four doppi, '...fagando dupei quatro di bassadanza inseme... ' (doing four doppi in bassadanza together). What follows does not seem to work. As with 'Lionzello', a comparison of parallel texts shows that the discrepancy caused by the presence of apparently excessive steps is resolved by the use of contrapassi. An examination of parallel texts where this substitution of contrapassi occurs reveals a consistent correspondence between the use of the contrapasso and that of sequences of 'doppin sul pie' - and, in Pd, of saltarelli in quadernaria (Table VI). This correspondence between two saltarellin quadernaria and three doppi on one foot ('Lionzello for two' and 'for three', 'Marchexana') or between two saltarelli in quadernariand three contrapassi (also 'Lionzello for two' and 'for three', 'Marchexana') or three doppi on one foot and three contrapassi ('Belreguardo', 'Lionzello', etc), as noted in Table VI, makes it highly probable that a measure of two tempi which accords with three contrapassi should also accord with three doppi on one foot. It would seem clear, therefore, that the mensural value of three doppi on one foot is indeed two tempi and not three. DOPPI IN SUL PIE AND CONTRAPASSI IN 'IMPERFECT' SEQUENCES OF A NUMBER OTHER THAN THREE On many occasions, contrapassi are grouped in fours, less often in twos ('Vergeppe', 'Prexonera'), occasionally in twelve and, once, even in sixteen ('Marchexana'). Yet in none of the treatises is any indication given of a mensural value. Sequences of four contrapassi Eight choreographies (see Table VI) contain contrapassi in groups of four. Although the mensural value of such sequences is never mentioned, it seems

9 58 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA highly unlikely that four contrapassi should correspond to a purely mathematical equivalent of two tempi plus an additional 'one-third of two tempi'! Once again, textual comparison can help. Table VI shows that the sequences of four contrapassi do not occur at random but belong solely to three treatises (FN, FL and NY) where they always appear as a substitute for groups of three contrapassi or three doppi on one foot found elsewhere. It would therefore seem a reasonable hypothesis that, at the moment when these treatises were compiled and in the courts where they were known, the use of three contrapassi was being replaced by a sequence of four contrapassi. This may be a change of name without any mensural implication, although the possibility of a difference in the manner of performance between sequences of three and that of four contrapassi cannot be excluded. We will return to this aspect later. Sequences of twelve and sixteen contrapassi 'La Marchexana' remains unique in offering, in its several versions, sequences of twelve doppi on one foot, twelve contrapassi and sixteen contrapassi. 'La Marchexana' (Fig. 2.) Section A, as recorded by Domenico in Pd, asks for eight tempi of quadernaria and this accords with the first two sections of the music noted in Pd, Pg and Pa. The eight versions of the text for this section are as follows: Pd imprimafano amano tienpi oto de saltarelo mexura quadernaria comengando cun lo pe sinistro afirmandose la dona first, hand in hand, they do eight tempi of saltarello in quadernaria, beginning with the left foot, and the lady stops Pg, In prima dodicipassi doppij triper pie cominciando dal sinistro etfacendofine sul dritto Pa First, twelve passi doppi, three per foot, beginning on the left foot and making an end on the right FL, the same - FN although with slight scribal variation S NY N Im prima XIJ contrapassi tre insul pie mancho et tre insul dricto et tre altri insul mancho con tre altri insul dricto First 12 contrapassi, three on the left foot and three on the right and three more on the left with three more on the right im prima sedici contrapassi insieme doe quattro da ognipie cominciando dal pie mancho... first sixteen contrapassi together, that is four on each foot beginning with the left... vnd hebt sich an mit 3 contrabafi vnd an dem letzten sin reprefi vnd das get zu viermalen darnach get... and begins with three contrapassi and the last with a ripresa and that is repeated four times... It is quite clear that the twelve contrapassi (sixteen in NY) and doppi on one foot should be divided into four sequences of three (or four) contrapassi each. The first of the two relevant musical sections contains two tempi of

10 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 59 Fig. 2. 'La Marchexana': Choreographic section A and the corresponding musical sections. Musical sections 1 and 2 from treatises Pd, Pg and Pa; together with the sequences of steps in choreographic section A as in the respective treatises. The vertical line dividing each tempo of quadernaria indicates the correspondence between the choreography and the music. SQ: saltarello in quadernaria cp: contrapassi d': doppi on one foot x3: sequences of passi repeated three times quadernaria, to be repeated three times as is indicated by the three small vertical lines at the beginning of the section in Pd and, more clearly, by the number 3 below the identical section in Pg and at the end of it in Pa. The second section, also of two tempi of quadernaria, carries no repeat mark. In Pd and Pg, this second section lacks one semibreve, the omission possibly indicated by the tiny vertical line hanging from the fifth horizontal line between the second semibreve and the sequence of four minims, to signify a pause, or rest, worth one semibreve. In Pa, this section has no problems. Since the texts in Pa and Pg are identical, as is the music in Pd and Pg, it follows that the three choreographic sections and the three musical ones should equate with each other. The combination of the two musical sections gives two tempi of quadernaria to be repeated four times. This corresponds with both the eight saltarelli in quadernaria of Pd and the four sequences of three doppi on one foot in Pg, Pa, FL and FN, and with the four sequences of three contrapassi in S and of four contrapassi in NY.12

11 60 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA Sequences of two contrapassi The attribution, by purely mathematical means, of a mensural value to sequences of two contrapassi or two doppi on one foot produces as unlikely a result as that suggested above for sequences of four contrapassi. According to such a calculation, the mensural value would be 2/3 of two tempi of music (that is, 1 + 1/3 tempi). However, choreographic evidence demonstrates that, in practice, two contrapassi apparently have a mensural value of one and a half templ. The following analysis looks at those choreographic and musical sections of the balli, 'Prexonera' and 'Vergeppe', where 'imperfect' sequences of two doppi on one foot and two contrapassi appear. ' 'Prexonera' (Fig. 3) Choreographic section B, corresponding to musical sections 2-5, contains two parts. The first (Bl), corresponding to musical section 2, is to be danced twice and Domenico himself says that it comprises two and a half tempi of bassadanza. The second part (B2), matching musical section 3, comprises two tempi of bassadanza and is to be danced only once. All of section B, in its two parts B 1 and B2, is then repeated and corresponds to musical sections 4 and 5, which are identical to sections 2 and 3. The choreography is described by Domenico (and also in Pg, Pa and S with minimal scribal variation) as follows: Pd FN and FL Or nota che Ihomo lasa la donafazando inanti tempi dui e mezo de bassadanza doe dui sempij comenzando colpe sinistro e dui dupij suso dictope afirmandose. Poi la dona li responde cum quello medemo... Then note that the man leaves the lady doing, forwards, two and a half tempi of bassadanza, that is two sempi, beginning with the left foot, and two doppi on the said foot, and stops. Then the lady replies with the same... e poi si fa tempi dui de bassadanza... tutti dui inuno instante... fazando passi dui sempij comenzando colpe sinistro et una riverentia suso dicto pe... and then come two tempi of bassadanza... both moving at the same time... doing two passi sempi beginning with the left and a riverenza on that foot... Ricordante che la dona ha da andar inanti fazando la parte tutta sopradicta chefe Ihomo e Ihomo ha da aseguire la donafazando quello che lafeze lei... Remembering that the lady has to proceed forwards doing the above mentioned section that the man did and the man has to follow the lady doing what she did poi Vuomo lasci la donna efaccia due passi sciempi e dua contrapassi cominciando col pie mancho voltandosi verso la donna; e poi la donna vadia a trovare Vuomo con dua passi sciempi e dua contrapassi cominciando col pie ritto; then the man leaves the lady and does two passi sempi and two contrapassi beginning with the left foot, turning towards the lady; and then the lady goes to find the man with two passi sempi and two contrapassi beginning with the right foot; e poi... vadino tondi con dua passi sciempi efaccino una riverenza... and then... they go round with two passi sempi and do a riverenza.. e poi la donna si parta dawuomo con dua passi sciempi e dua contrapassi cominciando col pie manco... e poi Vuomo... con dua passi sciempi e dua contrapassi cominciando col pie ritto... e vadino al tondo con dua passi sciempi et una riverenza in sulpie manco cominciando col pie manco...

12 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALL! 61 Fig. 3. 'Prexonera': choreographic sections B (B1 and B2) and the corresponding musical sections. Musical sections 2-5 from treatises Pd, Pg and Pa; together with the sequences of steps in choreographic section B, in its component part B1 and B2, as in the respective treatises. The vertical line indicates the correspondence between the choreography and the music. s: sempio cp: contrapassi d: doppio R: riverenza d': doppi on one foot gg: continenze and then the lady leaves the man with two passi sempi and two contrapassi beginning with the left foot... and then the man... with two passi sempi and two contrapassi beginning with the right foot and they go round with two passi sempi and a riverenza with the left foot beginning with the left foot... Choreographic section Bl, containing two and a half tempi of bassadanza, comprises, in Pd, two sempi and two doppi 'suso dicto pe' (that is - on that same foot: the left in the first part and the right in the repetition); in Pg, Pa and S, the two doppi are to be done 'col' (with) the left and then right.13 However, in FN and FL, the two doppi on the left foot are altered to two contrapassi while in NY, predictably, this becomes a sequence of three contrapassi, so apparently containing one more contrapasso than in the other treatises. These step sequences and corresponding music are shown schematically in Fig. 3. In all the treatises concerned, the two sempi require a change of foot - left, then right - while the doppi on one foot and the contrapassi are said to be on the same foot. It is likely, therefore, that the two sempi should retain their normal rhythm of half a tempo each and that the sequences of two doppi on one foot and of contrapassi should therefore be allocated the remaining one and a half templ.

13 62 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA Choreographic section Bl, which in Domenico has steps using two and a half tempi of bassadanza, corresponds to musical sections 2 and 4, both of which have the same three tempi of bassadanza. The third of these consists of one semibreve and a pause or rest equivalent to one semibreve, which, if not a scribal error, may simply be there to complete the tempo. The following provides a similar example of one and a half tempi of bassadanza matching two doppi on one foot: ' Vergeppe' (Fig. 4) This dance, which only exists in Pd and V, opens with a saltarello. Choreographic section B, in bassadanza, follows the opening saltarello and is described thus: Pd V Or nota ch lo homo ch e dedriedo a quello ch e in mezofano tuti dui in seme tienpi quatro e mezo debasadanga in soa mexura zoe dupij dui comengando dal pe sinistro andagando denanti via aladona ch iano denanti e da lo lato drito de dita dona efaciendo diti dui homeni dupij dui suxo el pe sinistro et una ripresa su lo pede drito faciendo fine dal sinistro tornando ne li luogi suoi de prima e afermandose. Poi le donegie risponde cun tienpi duide basadanga dagando una volta tunda ne li luogi soi medexemi cun pasi dui sienpij et una reprexa comengando cun lo pe drito. Apreso nota che Me doe le done si se moveno cun quillipasi medesimi e modi chfeno diti dui homeni... Now note that the man at the back and the one in the middle both together do four and a half tempi of bassadanza in its own measure, that is two doppi beginning with the left foot going in front of the lady in front and to the right side of the said lady, and doing two doppi on the left foot and a ripresa on the right foot making an end with the left returning to their places and stopping. Then the ladies reply with two tempi of bassadanza doing a volta tonda in their places with two sempi and a ripresa beginning with the right foot. Next note that both ladies move with the same steps and manner as the two men have done... Poi sip(ar)te Ihomo di mezo, et quello difondo et circondano le donne cun dui doppi comencando col sinestro: et dui doppi in suno pede, et tornano also loco. Le donne danno una volta tonda, et fanno el simile che ha facto gli homini. Li homini danno una volta tonda poi tutti insieme... Then the man in the middle and the one at the back go round the ladies with two doppi beginning with the left: and two doppi on one foot, and return to their places. The ladies make a volta tonda, and do the same as the men have done. The men make a volta tonda all together... Once again, Domenico provides precise mensural details of four and a half tempi of bassadanza, plus two more. As in the previous example, this musical section 2 includes a final pause, to be considered as a 'silent beat', thus completing the tempo. The last two tempi of bassadanza can easily be equated with the volta tonda while the 4+1/2 tempi refer to the sequence of two doppi + two doppi on one foot + one ripresa. The question of which foot to move for the two doppis made clear by the instruction 'comengando dal pe sinistro' - the first with the left, the second with the - right to be followed by two doppi on the left foot and a right ripresa. Since there is no indication of any variation from the norm, it is probable that - as in the - previous example the two doppi and the ripresa will use the normal measure of one tempo each. The remaining one and a half tempi must, therefore, be used for the two doppi on one foot.

14 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 63 Fig. 4. 'Vergeppe': choreographic sections B and the corresponding musical section as in treatise Pd. The vertical line indicates the correspondence between the choreography and the music. s: sempi r: ripresa d : doppio d ' : doppi on one foot From what has so far been noted of these "abnormal" sequences, it would seem probable that, in 'Marchexana', the sequence of 12 contrapassi (sixteen in NY) may be considered as a multiple of three contrapassi (four in NY), corresponding therefore to a mensural duration of 4 x 2 tempi of music. In 'Vergeppe' and 'Prexonera', however, the mensural value to accompany the two doppi on one foot and the contrapassi is 1 + 1/2 not 1 + 1/3 tempi, as might have been deduced from the simple arithmetical calculation of allocating to the two doppi on one foot a measure equivalent to 2/3 of that given to three doppi on one foot. Thus the question arises: what rule can permit the attribution of 2 tempi of music to sequences of three contrapassi or doppi on one foot, of /2 tempi to two contrapassi or doppi on one foot, and of 1 tempo to a passo doppio when it occurs either in isolation or in sequences of uncertain duration where the doppio is not referred to as "on one foot". In this situation, the doppio may be designated either as a doppio or as a doppio on one foot. Further, how is it possible that, in certain treatises, sequences of two doppi on one foot can be altered into sequences of three contrapassi and those of three contrapassiinto sequences of four? How can this happen without changing the rhythm of the sequence?

15 64 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA THE PASSO DOPPIO: DOUBLING THE PASSO SEMPIO The key to this strange paradox lies in the term passo doppio itself. In contrast to the ample commentary on rhythm and measure in fifteen century dance treatises, descriptions of the steps are rare. However, those dealing with the passo doppio all agree that it consists of three component steps and has a time value twice that of the passo sempio (Brainard 1981, p. 22; Pontremoli 1987, p. 105). Antonio Cornazano, in his treatise of 1465, states (V f. 3v-4r): Come e se movite el dritto per fare uno doppio dovete campeggiare sopra el sinestro che rimane in terra volgendo alquanto la persona a quella parte & ondeggiare nel sicondo passo curto levandosi soavemente sopra quillo e con tal soavita abbassarvi al tergo che compisse il doppio Thus, if one moves the right foot to do a doppio one must campeggiare on the left (foot) which remains on the ground, turning the body somewhat in that direction and ondeggiare the second short step rising gently on that (foot) and with similar grace lower oneself on the third (step) which completes the doppio How might a composite step, apparently composed of three alternating steps (here, right-left-right), each of which corresponds to a passo sempio, acquire the name 'double' rather than 'triple' even if performed in one measure that is twice as long as that given to a passo sempio? Such an anomaly makes it unlikely that the name of the passo doppio derives from its mensural value because, as we have seen, that measure can vary according to the way of performing the passo doppio - either with alternate feet or on the same foot. It would seem more probable that it owes its name to the fact that the step comprises a 'doubling' of the passo sempio. Normally, a step taken on the left foot will be followed by a step with the right. That is natural. In walking, as in its more rhythmic counterpart, marching, each successive step is made with alternate feet. So, in dance, a succession oipassi sempi represents the most basic form of movement forwards. A passo doppio, taken as a doubling of the passo sempio, contradicts that rule. Here a 'linking step' with the right foot enables the 'duplication' of the sempio on the left foot in the second half tempo: the leading step, on the two successive beats, being made with the same foot (see Fig. 5). This was not then seen as an 'anomaly' since the 'passo doppio', regarded as a 'passo naturau, became the most frequently used step in all four measures. But a sequence of such doppi does follow the original rule as each successive doppio begins with the other foot. PASSI DOPPII IN SUL PIE (ON ONE FOOT): ONCE AGAIN, A DOUBLING OF THE PASSO SEMPIO The existence, in the Italian manuscripts, ofpassi doppi to be danced on the same foot (here referred to as 'on one foot') has long been commented upon by dance historians (Brainard 1981). It was also suggested that such doppi should be 'closed' - that is, left-right-left and join right to left - to permit the following doppi also to be begun with the same left foot. But no mention was made of the timing

16 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 65 Fig. 5. Suggested interpretations of passi doppi on one foot. The eight white notes on the left-hand column indicate two tempi of music in quadernaria. Then, from left to right, the columns present, diagrammatically, two sempi, two doppi, three doppi 'on one foot' and two doppi 'on one foot'. The circles indicate the foot positions for each of the eight 'beats' of those two templ. Those in black refer to the foot that begins each step; the barred circles indicate the 'doubling' of a sempio. of such doppi on one foot which, as noted above, is of 2 tempi for three doppi and 1 + 1/2 tempi for two doppi on one foot. If, as suggested above, the name passo doppio was adopted to indicate the 'doubling' of the passo sempio when made with the same foot, then it is also possible that the expression 'two, or three, doppi on one foot' was used to signify not merely one but two, or three, 'doublings' of the sempio. On the basis of this hypothesis, if the 'linking step' seen in the normal left doppio is also utilised after the second step on the left foot, then, with an additional half tempo of music, a second 'doubling' of the left sempio can be made and, with yet one more half

17 66 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA tempo, a third 'redoubling' of the left sempio: that is two doppi on one foot in 1 + 1/2 tempi and three doppi on one foot in 2 tempi (Fig. 5). This may also explain why one passo doppio, when found on its own, is described either as ' cominciando col pie...' or as a 'doppio in sul pie...', both using one full tempo of music. Thus, when doppi appear in sequence, any reference to the use of alternate, or the same, foot is of fundamental importance in determining the mensural value, as well as the manner of performing the step. This may explain the sometimes almost obsessive attention given in the texts to which foot should begin a step. Where both the starting and the finishing foot are indicated, the steps are made with a normal alternation of the feet and each doppio is always given a full tempo. Where doppi on one foot are concerned, the leading step is 'doubled' - and therefore always on the same foot - and will utilise an additional half tempo of music for each successive 'doubling' (see Fig. 5). Support for this hypothesis of timing and performance can be seen in Section G of 'Belreguardo for two' and 'for three' and its corresponding musical section: the rhythmical movement of the melody seems to underline the cadence of the step in the sequences of doppi on one foot (see Fig. 6). DOPPI ON ONE FOOT OR CONTRAPASSI? The question now arises as to whether the interpretation suggested here for doppi on one foot is also suitable for contrapassi. If there is any difference between doppi on one foot and contrapassi, wherein lies that difference? If the terms are synonymous, what links these two names and why did the term contrapasso replace the phrase doppi on one foot? Before formulating a theory on the significance of the term contrapasso, it is necessary to look again at the meaning of the term 'doppion one foot'. We have already discussed the rule according to which a step taken on the left foot has to be followed by a step with the right. We have also seen that the basic passo doppio, as a 'doubling' of the passo sempio performed on the same foot, theoretically infringes such a rule but, once accepted as a natural step, became the most commonly used step in all musical rhythms from piva to bassadanza. An observer watching a sequence of five steps such as sempio - sempio - doppio - doppio - ripresa would have considered the rule fully respected as the foot initiating each step changed each time. A sequence of doppii on one foot, on the other hand, would have been perceived as an anomaly, an infringement of the rule, because after the first doppio (with its initial 'doubling' of the passo sempio), the leading foot remains the same for a second or even a third 'doubling'. In this way, two or three steps are made on the wrong or 'contrary' foot: hence their description as two or three contrapassi. Thus it follows that the term contrapasso was probably used to indicate not a step in contratempo nor a step subject to other rhythmic anomalies (Brainard 1981, p. 36; Pontremoli, 1987, p. 109; see also Gruickshank, 1989 and 1992;

18 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTPAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 67 Fig. 6. 'Belreguardo for two': choreographic section C and the corresponding musical section as in treatise Pd. Above the line are the notes; below it, the corresponding steps. Below that, are shown, diagrammatically, the foot placements for the two tempi of bassadanza used for the three doppi on one foot. s : sempi d ' : doppi on one foot d: doppio r: ripresa Sparti, 1992) but, more simply, a step made on the foot contrary to that normally expected. This interpretation also takes into account the fact that contmpassi are found only in sequences of three (more rarely of two) but never singly in as much as the single contrapasso does not exist - or, rather, is called a doppio. Thus, the contrapasso is seen to be synonymous with the doppio on one foot, the term probably having been introduced to resolve any possible confusion between sequences of doppi 'beginning with' a specific foot and those of doppi on one foot. This identification of doppi on one foot with contrapassi is further strengthened by the fact that the contrapasso, which only appears after 1465, is ever more frequently found in the later treatises, where it also replaces sequences of doppi on one foot.

19 68 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA THREE CONTRAPASSI, FOUR CONTRAPASSI: HOW MANY CONTRAPASSI? Figure 5 presents a possible reason why, in FN, FL and NY, which are among the latest of all the manuscripts, the two contrapassi have been altered to three and the three contrapassi into four. The three doppi on one foot - or - contrapassi in fact consist of four movements of that foot (one for the first step and three for the three 'doublings') each of which is given half a tempo. It is possible that the contrapassi, having by this time lost their original link with the doppi on one foot, are now being counted from the first step rather than the first doubling. The phrase 'three contrapassi with a ripresd used in N to refer to the three contrapassi may be an intermediary terminology between that found in FN, FL and NY and the earlier treatises - or merely a term current in Bologna in 1517, the date of that collection. There is no hint as to whether that ripresa, after the third contrapasso, exists simply to indicate a close to the step (by drawing the feet together) or whether it represents a development of the contrapasso in the early sixteenth century. CONCLUSIONS 1. Sequences of three contrapassi are first seen in Cornazano's Libro delvarte del danzare (V) in The author gives a musical value of two tempi for the three contrapassi which accords with what appears in the rules given in the treatises of Guglielmo Ebreo here referred to as M and S, both undoubtedly of later date (Table III). 2. There are several references pointing to a close correlation between contrapassi and sequences ofpassi doppi referred to as 'doppiin sulpie' (on one foot). These references may be summarised as follows: The comparison of the choreographies of Domenico's balli makes it clear that sequences of contrapassi do not appear in any treatise compiled prior to There are none in the Domenico (Pd) of c. 1455, nor in the first two treatises of Guglielmo, the first of 1463 (Pg) and the second (Pa), probably compiled between 1463 and 1465, with the additional autobiographical notes of 1474 (Table II: Gallo, 1983). Where these three treatises refer to doppi on one foot, all later treatises and dance collections use the term contrapassi (Table IV). The correspondence between contrapassi and doppi on one foot seems positive: contrapassi which appear in treatises assembled after 1465 always correspond to doppi on one foot in the three treatises Pd, Pg and Pa: while such doppi on one foot in these three treatises correspond to contrapassi or to doppi on one foot but never to doppi described in any other manner. In the theoretical sections of treatises M and S, contrapassi are referred to as 'contrapassi sopra uno pede\1^ The allocation of an equal mensural value of two tempi both for three doppi

20 THE PASSO DOPPIO AND THE CONTRAPASSO IN THE ITALIAN BALLI 69 on one foot and for three contrapassi has made possible the resolution of several apparently inconsistent musical measures. 3. We may therefore consider sequences of doppi on one foot as a choreographic element quite distinct from sequences of passi doppl. This is also clear in the theoretical sections of treatises M and S where doppi on one foot are described independently from standard passi doppl.15 The fact that these doppi already exist in what is chronologically the first of the Italian treatises, the Domenico (Pd) of c.l 455, removes any possibility of a conjectural study of their origin, or of discovering whether they were introduced as an equivalent to some other step. The current study has, however, shown that, in the two treatises by Guglielmo, prepared between 1463 and 1465 (Pg and Pa), sequences of doppi on one foot appear more frequently than in Pd and also as substitutes for saltarellin quadernaria ('Lionzello' and 'Marchexana': see Table VI). It is therefore possible that sequences of three doppi on one foot were already in use by Domenico as choreographic equivalents to two saltarellin quadernaria', their use becomes more frequent in those same balli as recorded by Guglielmo before 1465 while, subsequently, they become part of a progressive change from doppi on one foot to contrapassi. 4. Two distinct phrases are used to describe sequences of passi doppi: a: ' passi doppi cominciando col pie... efinendo col pie... ' b: passi doppi 'in sulpie... ' In the first of these, the doppio uses alternate feet (L, then R) to begin each doppio', in the second, the starting foot is always the same (see Figs. 3 and 4). Sequences of the two types of doppio also differ in that, in the first case, each doppio is given one tempo of music while, for the doppi on one foot, as for contrapassi, two tempi of music are allotted for three doppi and 1 + 1/2 tempi for sequences of two doppl. 5. The key to this mensural interpretation is contained in the very definition of the passo doppio. We believe that the doppio, made up of three passi sempi, owes its name to the fact that it is a step unit which 'doubles' the passo sempio. Thus a left doppio comprises a left sempio in the first 1/2 tempo, followed, in the second 1/2 tempo, by another left sempio. A right sempio - here called a linking' step - is inserted to make the second left sempio possible. This interpretation explains how the doppio, when it appears on its own rather than in a sequence of doppi, can be described as either 'cominciando col pie...' or 'in sulpie...': the doppio being, by its very nature, already a 'doubling' of the sempio con one foot'. Once this interpretation is accepted, the addition of another 1/2 tempo of music to the doppio permits a second 'doubling' on the same foot, while the addition of a further 1 /2 tempo permits yet another 'doubling' on the same foot* 6. Despite the numerous examples of close links between contrapassi and doppi on one foot, certain problems remain: particularly the question of why these two terms refer to a single step known by diverse names at different periods

21 70 MAURO LO MONACO AND SERGIO VINCIGUERRA according to the time or place in which they are found. The word contrapassi is first found in c.1465 as a replacement name for doppiin sul pie. This may well have happened in order to avoid the possible confusion between doppi and doppi on one foot. Countering this apparently simple assertion is the fact that, in both M and S, there is a clear distinction made between i doppi suso uno pedi and ' 'contrapassi sopra uno pede* (see: Notes xiv and xv). However, the fact that the two terms appear in consecutive, rather than the same paragraph does not necessarily refute the possible synonymy of the two terms since both treatises were compiled from different sources (Gallo 1983). On the other hand, a unique example to counter this, lies in the usage, in 'Malgratiosa'(S), of both terms in the one dance {tre contrapassi collo stanco... tre doppi collo stanco...). Unfortunately no music is given for this choreography nor are choreographic descriptions available for this dance in other treatises. Nonetheless, this seems to indicate a distinction between the two terms, while offering no hint as to how the steps may have differed in practice. Perhaps the difference, if any, may be no more than that we ought to give to the terms scossa, scossetto and squassetto as found in 'Leoncello for two' in S. (see Table IV). The hypothetical interpretation of sequences of doppi on one foot given in this paper may, in our opinion, be applied, without obvious distortion, also to contrapassi. 7. One final consideration arises from the dating of the treatises that include contrapassi. It has already been noted that individual treatises may have been compiled from sources themselves of different dates or may include later additions. This is seen in Pa, apparently compiled between 1463 and 1465, yet concluded with the final autobiographical addition in 1474 (Gallo 1983). The absence of contrapassi in this treatise confirms that the choreographies predate 1465, the time when, in our opinion, contrapassi first appear. Within the various choreographies that make use of contrapassi, those in which sequences of three contrapassi have been replaced by sequences of four contrapassi are undoubtedly of later date. We may conjecture that the term contrapasso replaced the phrase doppi on one foot in order to avoid confusion between standard doppi and doppi on one foot and that, once in use, the numbering of contrapassi also altered: no longer indicating the number of 'doublings' of the sempio but rather the number of steps made on the same foot - that is = 4. Thus, finding in one treatise, though not in the same choreography, sequences of both doppi on one foot and three and four contrapassi, as happens in FN, FL and NY, is the result not of an intrinsic difference between these steps but of the fact that such treatises and collections of dances were compiled using material of varied provenance. The analysis of the use of such sequences can, therefore, be helpful in the study of the sources used in the compilation of the various treatises. The above is the result of our deeply held belief that the fifteenth-century writers compiled their treatises with the greatest care and attention: particularly where such work was dedicated to powerful men on whom their future as maestri