The world changed under king Louis XIV. He reigned for more than 72 years, longer than any other monarch in history, and he ruled France with authority and totality. Le Roi Soleil, or “the Sun King,” as he was frequently called, was a ruler during the Age of Absolutism and his all-encompassing power extended to the arts, of which he was a great supporter. He especially loved dancing and it was at his court that dance became a refined art, an art which he and all aristocrats practiced daily, and one which they used to display their wealth, power, and impeccable taste at formal balls and events. Louis’s court presented a newly composed ballet every year, in which he himself danced, and Louis XIV’s reign from 1643–1715 saw the beginning of ballet as we know it, a highly choreographed art that was at that time controlled and passed on by French dancing masters.
But it was not only the movements of ballet that had a strong and far-reaching impact: the music of the ballet de cour, or “court ballet,” was also all the rage inside and outside of France. By the end of the 17th century nearly every piece of keyboard music being written in France was part of a dance suite (i.e. a group of dances usually in the same or related keys and generally meant to be played together) and this genre was popular in Germany, as well. There were numerous dances, but the four most popular–the ones that ended up in almost every suite–were the allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue. So it is with these dances that I wish to introduce you to Baroque dance music and help you understand its impact on music overall. Let’s begin.