Here's a textbook almain, or allemande, in its early English variety. The dance form had originated in Germany just a few decades before Holborne penned this example; the English fashion in the very late sixteenth century was to offer it in quadruple meter and a moderately fast tempo (the speed would slow in later years, especially in solo pieces). Holborne's viol consort begins with a stately tune over a restless bassline, then repeats the section verbatim. The second section, also repeated, trips more lightly and gives the melody a stronger rhythmic definition. The whole composition runs its course in less than a minute and a half.

© James Reel, Rovi