This piece, taken from an Italian manuscript source by the 19th century musicologist Oscar Chilesotti, is an example of the popular tune Espanoleta, or "Little Spanish Tune". An orchestrated version of the tune may be heard in Joaquin Rodrigo's Fantasia para un gentilhombre for guitar and orchestra.

This lighhearted dance is takem fron Testudo Gallo-Germanico. The word Testudo means lute, or more literally "tortoise shell," from the myth that the first lute was the result of a tortoise decaying. Its entrails were stretched acroos the shell, and when plucked they had a musical sound. This unlikely story is widely quoted in early treatises.

Besard was a highly respected French lutenist who was also trained as a lawyer. His large collection of his own and other composer's music was published in Cologne in 1603.

The branle was a lively country dance, often characterized by an unchanging or "drone" bass. This dance depends for its effectiveness on a fast tempo.