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Six Italian Dances: String Orchestra, Full Score

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Six Italian Dances Cover Image
Six Italian Dances: String Orchestra, Full Score

Six Italian Dances: String Orchestra, Full Score

By Peter Warlock

Item: 36-A746101
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Description
SIX ITALIAN DANCES are transcribed from a set of part-books which was known to have been in the possession of an English family before 1580. It is now in the British Museum (Royal Appendix MS 59-62). The MS contains forty-four dance-tunes, besides a number of Italian songs. The dance-music is akin in style to that described in Thoinot Arbeau's Orchesographie (1588), and to the work of Claude Gervaise and Estienne du Tertre, published by Attaignant in the mid-sixteenth century, and reprinted in modern times by M. Henri Expert in one of the volumes of his valuable collection Les maltres musiciens de la renaissance frangaise. Nos. 2, 4 and 6, which appear in the MS with the signature C, i.e., in duple time have been 'rearranged in triple time', according to the principle laid down by Arbeau in the Orchesographie (English translation, page 63). The original MSS are unbarred and without any indications of pace, phrasing or dynamics. These points of interpretation are best left to the taste of individual performer

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Additional Details
Series: Kalmus Orchestra Library
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
ISBN10: 1-58-106985-5
ISBN13: 978-1-58-106985-3
UPC: 753625177700
SKU: 36-A746101
Instrumentation: String Orchestra: 4.4.3.3.0

More about this title

About the Composer: Peter Warlock

Peter Warlock (1894-1930) was an English composer and musicologist whose curiosity about early music shaped his creative output throughout his brief life. He brought Renaissance and medieval sources into conversation with twentieth-century compositional thinking, creating works that felt both scholarly and deeply musical. His arrangements of historical dance music demonstrate his gift for breathing new life into old scores without obscuring their original character.

Why we love this

These dances arrive fully formed as a complete musical narrative, moving through six contrasting sections that give young string orchestras a genuine sense of journey and shape. The source material (English manuscripts from before 1580) carries authentic historical weight, yet Warlock's arrangement respects the original without cluttering it with excessive romantic additions. For programs seeking repertoire with both substance and stylistic freshness, this sits at exactly the right intersection.

What to expect

These dances capture the courtly grace and rhythmic vitality of sixteenth-century social music. There is directness and charm in the melodic lines, a sense of musicians gathering to play music for dancing and delight rather than concert grandeur.

Who it's for

String orchestras at the intermediate to advanced high school level will find manageable but rewarding technical demands and genuine historical interest. University and community ensembles seeking light, elegant programming material that demonstrates awareness of early music scholarship will also respond to this score.

How to get the most out of it

  • Shape phrases with elasticity in tempo. The original manuscripts contain no bar lines or tempo markings; allow the natural dance rhythms to breathe rather than locking into metronomic precision.
  • Balance clarity of line over lush sonority. Renaissance dance music gains character from articulate part-writing and gentle articulation, not dense harmonic cushioning.
  • Vary vibrato and bow pressure between dances to mark sectional identity. Each dance has distinct rhythmic and melodic personality that benefits from timbral differentiation.
  • Attend to the rearrangement of dances 2, 4, and 6 from duple to triple time (following Arbeau's historical principles). These meter shifts create momentum and surprise within the cycle.

How to use it

Position this as a bridge between concert works and strictly pedagogical material, or program it alongside Renaissance choral music for a thematic concert exploring period style. Its modest length and accessible character make it excellent for early-season performances or school assemblies where elegance without pretension serves the occasion.

Skills your students will build

  • Interpretation of unbarred, unmarked manuscripts and historical performance conventions
  • Flexible ensemble rhythm and phrasing across changing meters and dance forms
  • Articulation and tone color as tools for sectional contrast
  • Awareness of Renaissance musical style and social dance music contexts

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