6.  CONCLUSIONS

This research is based on the union and relation between music and movement through historical dance. It has been intended to enlighten the performance of the composition Courante Françoise, going through a hypothetical evolution from the Renaissance into the Baroque.

The search for similarities with other musical forms and with the dance is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting questions raised, since in this way and through the comparison we can get to know more about this musical form, and above all, about the performance of it.

For the performer of Early Music, the knowledge of the musical terms found in the historical treatises like rhythmical proportions, “hemiola”, “proportio sesquialtera” and metrical feet, are crucial for accomplishing an accurate performance.

The complement of historical dance, its notation and execution, make us question automatically about the many aspects concerning a specific dance, especially the dances of the Suite. The knowledge of baroque dance will definitely improve the comprehension and performance of the Courante Françoise and other baroque dances.

As a result a kind of a platform is created to make decisions about tempo and phrasing. Specifically, for the Courante Françoise, it approaches the experience of the flow in a physical way for the performer allowing to discover the character of the piece. The synthesis of a baroque step-sequence will stimulate criteria and creativity in the artistic search.

Since the Middle Ages, dance music was in a more intimate relationship with instrumental music than today.

The large number of dances raises often the interrogation if they were intended to be danced or not. Given their popularity, the big amount of pieces of Courante Françoise suggests an offer /demand situation and is reflected in the production of the first generation of French harpsichord composers. This had led to new techniques contributing to the evolution of the instrument and its literature. If the Courante Françoise is short in length in term of the number of bars, we could assume that they could have been danced. Simultaneously, this aspect will highlight the proper use of the music, either to dance, or to play.

From the second half of the seventeenth century, the Courante Françoise for harpsichord maintained its own characteristics until the end, in the time when purely instrumental music and genres began to flourish.

In spite of the uncertainties regarding the evolution of the Courante Françoise, I conclude that the hypotheses raised in this research have been validated. Like in the style of Baroque Dance, I would dare to say that the Courante Françoise, is how it is described, of French origin.