Moresca (Italian), morisca (Spanish), mourisca (Portuguese) or moresque, mauresque (French), also known in French as the danse des bouffons, is a dance of exotic character encountered in Europe in the Renaissance period. This dance usually took form of medieval wars in Spain between Moors and Christians. Elements of moresca include blackening of the face, bells attached to the costumes and, in occasions, men disguised as women to portray fools.[1] An example of the moresca can be seen in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet, which has a scene with both Juliet and Romeo dancing the moresca in a circle.[2]
In the 15th century, the moresca is the most-often mentioned dance type in literature. On the rare occasions other dances (such as the basse danse, saltarello, or piva) are mentioned, the moresca is almost invariably described as well. In its early manifestation it appears in two forms: as a solo dance, and as a couple or group dance in which the dancers mime a sword combat between Christians and Muslims.[3]
The moresca continues to be danced in Spain, Corsica, and Guatemala, and the name as well as certain characteristics of the choreography are related to the English Morris dance.[4][5])
The term moresca was also applied to ballet or pantomimic dance in opera by the 17th century. Some examples include: the moresca at the end of Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607). The ‘Entrée de' Mori’ at the end of Act 2 of Handel's Ariodante (1735) portrays an eccentric musical character that links it to the moresca tradition.[6]
Moresca (Italian for: Moorish song) is also a musical genre that caricatured Black Africans.[7] This genre of is related to the villanella, a song that imitates lyric Neapolitan traditions of the street and countryside that became popular in the 1530s[7] (see moresche, which is the Italian plural of moresca). This popular genre in 16th century had texts that parody the speech of Moors, later defined as Muslims or narrowly as inhabitants of the Barbary Coast.[6] This genre originally had strong references to African style in music, like the accented eight notes and staccato rhythms.[8]
^Brown, Alan; Cardamone, Donna G. (20 January 2001). "Moresca". Grove Music Online: 1. Retrieved September 9, 2022 – via Oxford Music Online.
^"Romeo and Juliet (1968) vs. Romeo + Juliet (1996) | The Film Magazine". 2016-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
^Sachs 1937, 333.
^Sachs 1937, 336–337.
^Halfyard 2002.
^ abBrown, Alan; Cardamone, Donna G. (20 January 2001). "Moresca". Grove Music Online: 2. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.19125. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved September 9, 2022 – via Oxford Music Online.
^ abRice, Eric (2021). Lassus: Nozze in Baviera. Naxos. p. 4.
^Salvatore, Gianfranco (Fall 2007). "Afro-Mediterranean Culture and African-American Music: A New Frontier". CBMR Digest. 20 (2): 1 – via Music Periodicals Database.
Moresca (Italian), morisca (Spanish), mourisca (Portuguese) or moresque, mauresque (French), also known in French as the danse des bouffons, is a dance...
Apatelodes moresca is a moth in the family Apatelodidae. Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal...
mainly in wood, and is best known for the 16 figures of Moriskentänzer (Moresca dancers, 1480, 10 remaining, the fate of 6 unknown) lining the walls of...
(Little Doll), a former beauty queen and a well-known figure in the Camorra Moresca This page lists people with the surname Maresca. If an internal link intending...
single sound hole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" or "morisca" and "latina" had been dropped, and these two chordophones...
early 17th century inspired by similar European traditions such as the moresca. The term danza de matachines is also used to refer to their characteristic...
can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GstMRyt_nnc at 47:46. Moresca Romanesca Masques et bergamasques Suite bergamasque (1916). The Musical...
similarly derived words include Blackamoor, Matamoros, Maure, Mohr im Hemd, Moresca, Moresche, Moresque, Moreška, Morianbron, Morisco, Moros y cristianos,...
Izzo, Guido, Colasanti, and Lopez arrived at Villa Moresca, located on Via della Vasca Moresca in the Punta Rossa area of Cape Circeo, in the San Felice...
only place outside of the churches where one can hear them. The famous Moresca [sic], who sings at the Laterano, is a full-faced soprano of some forty...
metamorphosis, is framed by the final appearance of the ritornello and by a lively moresca that brings the audience back to their everyday world. Throughout the opera...
Richter's 2017 album Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works. Bergamesca Moresca Passamezzo antico Romanesca Hudson, Richard (January–June 1973). "The Folia...
from the 15th century), French morisques, Croatian moreška, and moresco, moresca or morisca in Italy and Spain. The modern spelling Morris-dance first appears...
words include Blackamoor, Kammermohr, Matamoros, Maure, Mohr im Hemd, Moresca, Moresche, Moreška, Morianbron, Morisco, Moros y cristianos, and Morris...
a man dressed as a woman, in the context of a carnival tradition- the moresca- which often involved a crossdressed man comically playing the role of...
(similar to Italian prosciutto) and on the preparation of homemade pasta. The Moresca as a weapon dance and pageant portraying a battle between Christians and...
117 Country Italy Region Tuscany Province Grosseto (GR) Frazioni Cala Moresca, Cala Piccola, Carrubo, Porto Ercole, Porto Santo Stefano, Pozzarello,...
Old English Instruments of Music (pages 21-22), calling it the "Guitare Moresca" or "Chittara Saraacenica", with its "long neck, oval shaped body and round...
di primavera for cello and piano Canzonetta for cello and piano Danza moresca for cello and piano Elegia per la morte di Cavour for cello and piano Entreaty...
origin found in Corsica: the caracolu, a women's funeral dance, and the moresca, illustrating the struggle between Moors and Christians. These days, they're...