Branle Gay by Jean Babtiste Besard (1567-1617)
 Although Jean Babtiste Besard was born to a family of some means and noble lineage, he led an extremely active life as a lutenist, composer, teacher, lawyer and medical doctor. His noteworthy treatise on playing the lute, entitled De modo, was included in both of these collections. John Dowland’s son, Robert, presented an English translation of it in his Varietie of Lute Lessons (1610) |
Notes
The Branle was a popular group dance of French Origin which possessed certain comic overtones. Due to the rather thick, chordal texture of this robust work by Besard, it’s best played at a moderate tempo, with great care given to bring out all the voices in each chordal evenly.
1 page. Easy Guitar Piece. Renaissance. Key of D Minor. Drop D Tuning. 16 measures.