(It.).
A name used outside Hungary for a dance in the Hungarian style. In western Europe Hungarian dances appeared by the late 14th century in the ballet des nations (dances in a variety of national styles staged in court entertainments). The ungaresca is first mentioned by name in Milan in 1490, but at that time it probably had not acquired the lively, heavily accented character of 16th-century examples: a report of a Sforza wedding in 1494 notes that the allemande was danced ‘andante, like an ungaresco’ (cited in Pirro, Histoire de la musique). No choreography for the dance is known. The earliest printed ungaresche, dating from the late 16th century, are found in dance collections for viol consort (Mainerio's Primo libro de balli, 1578) and in lute and keyboard tablatures (Wolff Heckel's Lautten Buch of 1556 and Jakob Paix's Orgel Tabulaturbuch, 1583). Two Ungarische Paraden in Nörmiger's Tabulaturbuch (1598) exhibit the accented anapaests and dotted rhythms that became characteristic of the Style hongrois in the 19th century. There seems to be no relationship between the ungaresca and several dances called ‘Ungaro’ or ‘Ongaro’ (e.g. by Bernhard Jobin and Giovanni Picchi) which are based on a single tune.
MATTHEW HEAD