Chapter 9
Baroque
Instrumental Music
The Dance Suite
Key Terms
Suite
Baroque dance form
Binary form
Trio
French overture
Air
Walking bass
Inversion
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Minuet
Gavotte
Bourrée
Siciliana
Gigue
The Dance Suite
Dance music popular in Baroque era
Customary to group dances in a suite
• All in same key; fast dance at the end
Composed dances usually “stylized”
• Written for listening, not dancing
• Retain many features of music for dancing
• Allow greater musical sophistication
Written for various performing forces
• Orchestra, chamber ensembles, or solo
harpsichord or lute
Baroque Dances
Many different Baroque dances
Distinguished from each other by—
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Specific dance steps
A certain meter
A distinctive tempo
Unique rhythmic features (e.g., two-beat upbeat
for gavotte)
Most dances use Baroque dance form
• Also called binary form
Baroque Dance Types
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Allemande – 4/4 – moderate – flowing motion
Courante – 3/2 – moderate – uses 6/4 at times
Sarabande – 3/4 – slow – often accents beat 2
Minuet – 3/4 – moderate – straight rhythm
Gavotte – 4/4 – moderate – double upbeat
Bourrée – 2/2 – rather fast – short upbeat
Siciliana – 12/8 – moderate – gently rocking
Gigue – 6/8 – fast – short upbeat, lively
Baroque Dance Form
Most Baroque dances use binary form
Two sections – a & b
• Each section ends with strong cadence
• Each section is repeated
• Symmetrical feel–a & b sections often share
same motives, cadences, & other features
• b section usually longer than a
Form can be diagrammed as—
• a a b b or abbreviated as |: a :||: b :|
Dance and Trio (1)
To create larger-scale dance works
• Composers grouped dances in suites
• Sometimes they grouped two dances of the
same type – e.g., two minuets or two gavottes
Second dance of each pair called a trio
• Minuet & Trio or Gavotte & Trio
• Trio often scored for three instruments
First dance returns again at the end
Overall ternary form – A B A
Dance and Trio (2)
Based on principles of contrast & return
Trio uses different melody & rhythms,
softer dynamics, lighter scoring
Return of 1st dance creates satisfying
conclusion
Form can be diagrammed as—
The French Overture (1)
Some suites begin with French overture
Originally used by Louis XIV’s orchestra
• The 24 Violins of the King
Later used to begin many works—
• Operas, suites, sonatas, oratorios (Messiah)
Uses binary form, but with more contrasts
than usual—
The French Overture (2)
A section – slow tempo, sharply dotted
rhythms, duple meter, homophonic texture
B section – fast tempo, often compound
meter, imitative polyphony
Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3
in D
Likely written for student orchestra at
University of Leipzig
Scored for festive Baroque orchestra
• Strings, 2 oboes, 3 trumpets, 2 timpani, &
continuo
Includes several dance types—
• French overture, air, gavotte & trio, bourrée, &
gigue
• Most are examples of Baroque dance form
Bach, Air (1)
French air = aria (song)
Bach’s most famous, beloved melody
Scored for strings & continuo
Uses Baroque dance (binary) form
Spontaneous, singing melody uses
irregular rhythms
• Rising sequences build intensity in b section
Melody supported by stable walking bass
Bach, Air (2)
Bach, Gavotte (1)
Scored for festive Baroque orchestra
• Trumpets create march-like feel
Typical gavotte two-quarter-note upbeat
Uses gavotte & trio format
• Both dances use Baroque dance form
• Trio typical in providing contrast with Gavotte;
unusual in its use of full orchestra
• 1st gavotte returns at the end
Bach, Gavotte (2)
Example of inversion in b section of
Gavotte (a learned device)
Conclusions
Contrasting dances were often grouped in
large-scale works called suites
Dances were typically in binary form
• Two short, subtly contrasted, sections that
repeat
Greater length & contrast achieved by
pairing like dances (e.g., gavotte & trio)
Stylized or not, dances relied on—
• Clear melodies, simple textures, & strong
rhythms