La Bergamasca, as Britannica tells us, is a lusty 16th century Italian dance; given that it is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream as bergomask, this can surely be seen as the example of the notorious Italianisation of the English culture in the second half of the 16th c.
Marco Uccellini composed his Bergamasca in 1642, and it has instantly gained popularity that sees the piece being performed to this day. The video below is a classical version that remained faithful to what was likely the original tempo. I dare say, however, that this Monday I heard an ever better version by the Moscow musical group Pfeyffer.
