Hazebroucq, Hubert. "»De la cadence fine et savante«. Beispiele rhythmischer Effekte im Theatertanzrepertoire des 18. Jahrhunderts."

Hazebroucq, Hubert. "»De la cadence fine et savante«. Beispiele rhythmischer Effekte im Theatertanzrepertoire des 18. Jahrhunderts." Musiktheorie: Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft 34, no. 2 (2019): 118-139.


Abstract:
In the 18th century, the ordinary choreographic cadence matches the downbeat of the music and the beginning of the step unit. However, some treatises mention the possibility of contravening this rule, particularly in a theatrical context. In the Art de la danse by Borin (1746) one reds of the virtuosic effects of the "learned and refined cadence" (cadence fine et savant), credited to the choreographer Beauchamp. Examples of such rhythmical processes can be found in Beauchamp's notated Sarabande, and in choreographies of his followers, such as Pécour and Ballon, confirming the existence and longevity of such practices, even if they were unusual. An Italian treatise by Sacchi (1770) also attributes the art of dancing "against the bar" to theatrical dancers. Magri, in 1779, names it "contra tempo" and "intercadenza", the latter echoing the "entre candence" already mentioned by Pasch in 1707. In other fields the term intercadence (in French) can refer to the irregularity of the pulse or the mood. The irregular cadence sheds new light on the analogy between dance and poetic discourse, and in the relationship between choreographic and poetic meters.