I've been playing a recorder piece called Cuparee and have been unable, despite extensive internet searches, to find a definition. I may be looking in the wrong place but I've tried general searches and more specialist websites. I assume from places where just the name appears that it's a renaissance dance form, probably French, but does anyone have more detail ?

There is a cuparee in the syllabus for AB recorder exams (Descant G2 I think) so hopefully someone at the AB will know !

Thanks

A Cuparee is an Elizabethan Masque Dance.

This site may be of some use to you.

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-masques.htm

ooh - go you ! you learn something new every day

Thank you Daisy Chain, although unless I've missed something which is possible given the time of day, I can't see cuparee referred to on that website. I'm guessing that like some of the other popular dances it came from France -unless it's a distortion of the word canary as in the Spanish dance mentioned.

Hi Willard..

You're right. The site doesn't mention a cuparee specifically. It's just an idea as to what masqued dances involved. I was hoping to find something that described how a cuparee was danced. Not surprisingly, there's loads about the minuet/courante/sarabande etc.

I remember touching on it "in passing" when I was at the OU Summer school in 2004. We were discussing dances and somebody happened to mention the cuparee. "A masqued dance" was as far as the disussion got. I've literally just got "Cuparee- masqued dance" in my notes!! Not very helpful I'm afraid.

I'm intrigued to know myself now, so I'll keep looking..

Thanks Daisy Chain. I'll keep looking too, because I don't like being defeated.

To begin with, because of failing eyesight, I thought it said "cupatee"; which would make it a sort of tea-dance, I guess...