Brunswick [Almain]

The four hopped Doubles identify the dance as an almain, and the presence in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book of The Duke of Brunswick's Alman, set by Dr John Bull, is conclusive enough proof of its pedigree. The earlier European settings are more likely than Bull's to have accompanied this dance, but the latter has been chosen because it exists in a near-contemporary English source. Like the New Almain, this is one of a number of almains whose choreographies appear only in the early Elizabethan Source A. It is, however, far and away the simplest and plainest of the surviving English almains, its relentless movement back and forth unvaried even by simple setting to the sides or by turning figures. In view of this, its historical importance lies in pointing up very strong links between these essentially processional dances and the almain as a genre.