Jean-Féry Rebel’s Les caractères de la danse: Sonata
Jean-Féry Rebel’s 'Les caractères de la danse' of 1715 is a suite of “dance characters,” i.e., musical dance types (sarabande, chaconne, etc.). Like some of his other instrumental pieces, this work was to inspire choreographers and to serve as bona fide dance music. Perhaps the most famous choreographic treatment was that by Prévost, first mentioned in 1721. An entry in the 'Nouveau Mercure' suggests that her version may have been a mix of pantomime and dance, like her treatment of Rebel’s 'Le caprice', and like Cammasse’s version of 'Les caractères de la danse' from 1738-39, although the latter was set to a new score by Nicolas Racot de Grandval and with different scenarios. In dance parlance, “character” connoted especially comic roles, wherein pantomime was common (cf. the expression 'pas de caractère' or ‘character dances’ in use already by this time). Ultimately, very little is known, however, about what these different choreographic treatments actually looked like. The excerpt presented here (the sonata/finale) shows newly created choreography without pantomime performed in the half-serious style of the theater circa 1730 (one of the four traditional styles of eighteenth-century ballet), based on Edmund Fairfax’s research. Dance: Mojca Gal Choreography: Edmund Fairfax Music performance: Mojca Gal (violin) and Thys Grobelnik (harpsichord) Basel, January 2022
Jean-Féry Rebel’s 'Les caractères de la danse' of 1715 is a suite of “dance characters,” i.e., musical dance types (sarabande, chaconne, etc.). Like some of his other instrumental pieces, this work was to inspire choreographers and to serve as bona fide dance music. Perhaps the most famous choreographic treatment was that by Prévost, first mentioned in 1721. An entry in the 'Nouveau Mercure' suggests that her version may have been a mix of pantomime and dance, like her treatment of Rebel’s 'Le caprice', and like Cammasse’s version of 'Les caractères de la danse' from 1738-39, although the latter was set to a new score by Nicolas Racot de Grandval and with different scenarios. In dance parlance, “character” connoted especially comic roles, wherein pantomime was common (cf. the expression 'pas de caractère' or ‘character dances’ in use already by this time). Ultimately, very little is known, however, about what these different choreographic treatments actually looked like. The excerpt presented here (the sonata/finale) shows newly created choreography without pantomime performed in the half-serious style of the theater circa 1730 (one of the four traditional styles of eighteenth-century ballet), based on Edmund Fairfax’s research. Dance: Mojca Gal Choreography: Edmund Fairfax Music performance: Mojca Gal (violin) and Thys Grobelnik (harpsichord) Basel, January 2022