Bonjour, heretics!
For the past six weeks I have been mentally stuck in late 15th century France in attempts to resurrect a novel started many years ago. I am not ashamed to admit that I was an avid Renaissance Fair performer. Here is a picture of me dancing in 100 degree weather at a festival in Sterling Forest. In my adolescence I had studied Irish, Scottish and Renaissance dance extensively and, naturally, grasped at every chance to perform.
The tune the musicians in this photo are performing is arguably one of the most iconic dance pieces of the late Medieval period. It's called La Rotta - meaning "road" in Italian. Even though the tune was popularized in Italy, the composer is said to be of Hungarian descent. This versatile melody can be easily adapted and modernized. I have never heard a rendition of La Rotta I did not love or felt tempted to dance to. Here is one of my absolute favorite ones by Dufay Collective. It has that vibrant pan-Romanic vibe.
And, if you like the sound of La Rotta, there is a more extensive compilation of "party mix" from the Middle Ages.
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