Research Project
Julien Clarchies (1769-1814) was the most in demand fiddler in Paris during the Premier Empire (1804-1814). He published hundreds of popular dance tunes arranged for two violins. I'm in the process of preparing an anthology of his works, some samples are below.
Interesting image I found on the web: looks like guitars and a hammered dulcimer playing for a contradance in the early 1800's.
A caricature from after the battle of Waterloo: Napoleon is dancing a contradance "anglaise," to the tune of an Englishman conducting the band, an Austrian playing the bass, a Russian on the violin, and a Prussian on the flute. For a fuller explanation of this cartoon, see http://www.histoire-empire.org/docs/caricatures/nicolas.htm
