academie: Dance speed

[Frederick Joseph Ross]

On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 corun at medievalist.org wrote:
> If someone can answer this question I'd appreciate it. If you can give me 
> the answer as a quarter note = X that would be even more helpful.

As a violinist and dance geek, I hold that galliards should have quarter 
note = 176.  

Many groups play Dowland's galliards painfully slow thinking that they 
are to be felt in three.  Instead they are in a subdivided one, but by 
the nature of the dance and the music the subdivision is two or three.  
This gives it a fun hemiola.  Similarly, a lot of people play the pavans 
too fast, which I think ought to be quarter note = 56 - 63.

Hope this is helpful.

Fred