Saltarello

[citation needed] This "German saltarello", in contrast to the Italian variety, was in duple time and began on the downbeat, and was also known by the name quaternary.

[4] In 1540, Hans Neusidler published an Italian dance under the name Hupff auff (introductory skip), and identified it with a parenthetical subtitle: "saltarella".

After witnessing the Roman Carnival of 1831, the German composer Felix Mendelssohn incorporated the dance into the finale of one of his masterpieces, the Italian Symphony.

The dance is usually performed on the zampogna bagpipe or the organetto, a type of diatonic button accordion, and is accompanied by a tamburello or hand-drum.

[citation needed] The principal source for the medieval Italian saltarello is the Tuscan manuscript Add MS 29987, dating from the late 14th or early 15th century and now in the British Library.

Saltarello . Illustration by Bartolomeo Pinelli .
Saltarello rhythm [ 2 ]
A saltarello published by Giorgio Mainerio in 1578. Ernst Stolz plays the viol consort and the organ. The images are paintings by Tiziano .