Although the French quadrille of the 1830s and 1840s has often received censure for its limited expressive qualities and aesthetically detrimental arrangements, the dance was a critical nexus in Parisian musical life, connecting the worlds of "high" and "low" culture and often serving as the public's first point of contact with operas. With the standardization of the form of the quadrille around 1820, it began to receive criticism for the mechanical quality of the dancing it supported. Although some attacked the genre's poor arrangements, the quadrille both directly and indirectly could benefit the operas from which it drew tunes. Quadrilles did not always destroy the music they borrowed; French composers typically did not use irregular phrases or rhythms, and melodies such as Auber's often are readily suited to dance arrangement. Furthermore, although quadrilles could break up the narrative of the opera from which melodies were drawn, often the sheet music covers or performances might allude to or seek to recreate the narrative of the original.

Works: Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Tolbecque: Pantalon from Guillaume Tell (520), La Muette de Portici (520-22); Louis Antoinie Jullien: La Muette de portici (522-23), Les Huguenots (523).

Sources: Auber: La Muette de Portici (520, 523).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Virginia Whealton