Orchestral suites (Bach)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The four Orchestral Suites or Ouvertures BWV 1066–1069 are a set of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, probably composed between 1725 and 1739 in Leipzig. The word ouverture refers to an opening movement in which a section of slow dotted-note rhythm is followed by a fugue; at the time, this name was also used to refer to a whole suite of dance-pieces in the French baroque style.
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Ouverture No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066
Instrumentation: Oboe I/II, bassoon, violin I/II, viola, basso continuo
Ouverture No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Instrumentation: Solo flute, violin I/II, viola, basso continuo
The badinerie has become a show-piece for solo flautists, due to its quick pace and difficulty, and it is also often heard as a mobile phone ringtone. It was sampled by rapper Busdriver for his 2002 song Imaginary Places.
Ouverture No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
Instrumentation: Trumpet I/II/III, timpani, oboe I/II, violin I/II, viola, basso continuo
The Air is one of the most famous pieces of classical music. An arrangement of the piece has come to be known as Air on the G String.
Ouverture No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069
- Ouverture
- Bourrée I/II
- Gavotte
- Menuet I/II
- Réjouissance
Instrumentation: Trumpet I/II/III, timpani, oboe I/II/III, bassoon, violin I/II, viola, basso continuo
The opening movement of this suite was reused by Bach at the choral opening to his cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (BWV 110). The voices come in at the opening of the fugal gigue, so that their singing of 'lachens' (laughter) sounds like 'ha ha ha', a technique Bach used a few times in his vocal works.
