The bassadanza (in French-speaking lands, basse danse), was the most important courtly dance form in Europe from the late Middle Ages into the sixteenth century. The dancers could, for example, show off to their partners the dignity and grace of bodily action necessary to cut a good figure at court, as well as in a society marriage. For accompaniment, the court pifferi (fifers) would often adopt melodies from courtly love songs, and improvise sprightly contrapuntal lines above the tenor. La spagna, perhaps indicating national origins of the melody in its common title, served as one such popular ground for bassadanze in the late fifteenth century, and also gave itself as cantus firmus for masses by Gaspar van Weerbeke and Heinrich Isaac. The second Agnus section of Isaac's Missa La bassadanza even circulated separately, without text, as an instrumental canzona. The lowest of Isaac's three voices, appropriately enough, carries the bassadanza melody, and proceeds in stately triple meter, one note per measure. The upper two voices provide shapely contrapuntal phrases, often beginning in imitative fashion, and ending with stereotypical cadence formulas. Isaac's La spagna, in fact, may capture in a composed musical score something of the improvised manner of the instrumental dance.

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