Each piece in the Baroque dance suite was set in

Think of the Baroque Dance Suite as a travelogue around Europe in the 18th century, in music. Though not meant for dancing, each movement is modeled after a popular dance form of the time. Composers of the Late Baroque set each dance in a virtuosic manner to show off the abilities of the instrument, and its player. And of course, they’re adhering to the Baroque ideals of the Doctrine of Affections, and “filling the space.”

Table of Contents Show

Movements of the Baroque Suite
Optional Movements
Other Features

Composers of the Late Baroque did something interesting with the use of melody. Bach is a prime example. They used an idea of “progressive expansion,” where they’d introduce a theme at the beginning of a piece, and continually develop it throughout the piece. This technique became known as fortspinnung (fortspinning = spinning out). Think of it like pulling on a loose thread from a sweater, and until it slowly unravel, showing all its parts. The phrase structure thus has an improvisational quality to it (part of filling the space). So what holds this continuous development together you ask. Why the rhythm of course. Let’s listen to the prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, in G Major, BWV 1007.

Take a look at the first measure. That sixteenth note arpeggio pattern played here is the impetus for the rest of this movement. It’s constantly there, developing non-stop until the end of the piece. Also notice there are no rests in the piece. No breathes until its finished. (More space filled) The repetition, and sequences created this theme is what we connect to, and hear as the melody.

Another example of a piece from our playlist that fits in the Baroque Suite category is Handel’s Water Music Suite, Alla Hornpipe, II. Alla hornpipe. Water Suite was composed in conjunction with a nautical parade down the rive Thames to help elevate the popularity of King George I of England. (His wasn’t very well liked by his people)

Hornpipe?

It was a a single reed instrument in the woodwind family, made from an animal horn. Later converted into the pipe of bagpipe. It was also a popular dance English dance performed by sailors, usually in a triple meter. Both ideas are heard here. Listen for the main melody, and how it is moved around the orchestra. That strong, regal, ascending motif.

This piece is set in ternary form (A-B-A). The ascending, major fanfare being the A section, while the descending, minor line the B section (around :55 into the piece). The A section fanfare returns around 1:46. As the melody moves around the orchestra, take note how the timbre (tone color) changes with the natural voice of the instrument playing.

You may recognize this as the entrance music for the Royal Family of England, and that’s because it has been used as such since it was written. Now imagine performing it on a boat sailing down river. Hopefully, the current wasn’t too rough that day.

Concert, c. 1630, by Mattia Preti

A characteristic baroque form was the dance suite. Suites are ordered sets of instrumental or orchestral pieces usually performed in a concert setting. (Some dance suites by Bach are called partitas, although this term is also used for other collections of musical pieces). The dance suite typically consists of four movements (described below), plus an overture at the beginning.

Movements of the Baroque Suite

Overture

The baroque suite often began with a French overture (“Ouverture” in French), which was followed by a succession of dances, principally the following four:

Allemande

Often the first dance of an instrumental suite, the allemande was a very popular dance that had its origins in the German Renaissance era. The allemande was played at a moderate tempo and could start on any beat of the bar.

You can listen to an example of the allemande from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 below:

Courante

The second dance is the courante, a lively, French dance in triple meter. The Italian version is called the corrente.

Below is the courante from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1:

Sarabande

The sarabande, a Spanish dance, is the third of the four basic dances, and is one of the slowest of the baroque dances. It is also in triple meter and can start on any beat of the bar, although there is an emphasis on the second beat, which creates the characteristic “halting” or iambic rhythm of the sarabande.

Below is the sarabande from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1:

Gigue

The gigue is an upbeat and lively baroque dance in compound meter, typically the concluding movement of an instrumental suite, and the fourth of its basic dance types. The gigue can start on any beat of the bar and is easily recognized by its rhythmic feel. The gigue originated in the British Isles. Its counterpart in folk music is the jig.

Below is the gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1:

Optional Movements

These four dance types (allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue) make up the majority of seventeenth-century suites; later suites interpolate one or more additional dances between the sarabande and gigue:

Gavotte – The gavotte can be identified by a variety of features; it is in 4/4 time and always starts on the third beat of the bar, although this may sound like the first beat in some cases, as the first and third beats are the strong beats in quadruple time. The gavotte is played at a moderate tempo, although in some cases it may be played faster.
Bourrée – The bourrée is similar to the gavotte as it is in 2/2 time although it starts on the second half of the last beat of the bar, creating a different feel to the dance. The bourrée is commonly played at a moderate tempo, although for some composers, such as Handel, it can be taken at a much faster tempo.
Minuet – The minuet is perhaps the best-known of the baroque dances in triple meter. It can start on any beat of the bar. In some suites there may be a Minuet I and II, played in succession, with the Minuet I repeated.
Passepied – The passepied is a fast dance in binary form and triple meter that originated as a court dance in Brittany.Examples can be found in later suites such as those of Bach and Handel.
Rigaudon – The rigaudon is a lively French dance in duple meter, similar to the bourrée, but rhythmically simpler. It originated as a family of closely related southern-French folk dances, traditionally associated with the provinces of Vavarais, Languedoc, Dauphiné, and Provence.

Other Features

Entrée (ballet) – Sometimes an entrée is composed as part of a suite; but there it is purely instrumental music and no dance is performed. It is an introduction, a march-like piece played during the entrance of a dancing group, or played before a ballet. Usually in 4/4 time. It is related to the Italian “intrada.”
Basso continuo – a kind of continuous accompaniment notated with a new music notation system, figured bass, usually for a sustaining bass instrument and a keyboard instrument.
The concerto and concerto grosso
Monody – an outgrowth of song
Homophony – music with one melodic voice and rhythmically similar accompaniment (this and monody are contrasted with the typical Renaissance texture, polyphony)
Dramatic musical forms like opera, dramma per musica
Combined instrumental-vocal forms, such as the oratorio and cantata
New instrumental techniques, like tremolo and pizzicato
The da capo aria “enjoyed sureness”
The ritornello aria – repeated short instrumental interruptions of vocal passages
The concertato style – contrast in sound between groups of instruments
Extensive ornamentation