This chapter explores the repertoire of minuets composed around the end of the eighteenth century specifically for dancing, considering them particularly in relation to the needs (perceived and real) of the dance. The research is based on an in-depth study of 319 minuets (and trios) composed for the annual balls of the Gesellschaft bildender Künstler at the Hofburg Redoutensaal. Certain defining features of the repertoire are identified, such as the two-bar grouping necessary for the dancers’ enactment of the minuet step. Larger-scale features are explored, such as the perceived need by music theorists (and possibly some composers) for eight-bar phrases to accommodate the choreography – even though the choreography does not actually dictate this – and the extent to which this might be considered a key structural feature of the minuet genre. The minuet choreography (established in Chapter 2) is set against the structure of a typical minuet composition, revealing that, while on the small scale there is considerable coherence between step and two-bar groupings, on the larger scale there is little correspondence between dance figure and musical phrase lengths. Compositional creativity, noble musical expression and musical anomalies are considered.

Political technology' is not a term much used in the West. But spin and political consulting are outdated labels. Spin doctors and political consultants do more than spin or consult; they also meet the definition of engineers of the political system. Particularly in the United States, where a different type of political universe has been constructed: Political Action Committees, dark money and astroturfing.