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Monday, April 27 2020 00:00

Day 16: Gavotte from Bach's Orchestral Suite in D

Violist age 11 plays "Gavotte" from Orchestral Suite in D by Bach

Bach wrote four Orchestral Suites. They all have an opening piece called an Overture, followed by a collections of movements (individual pieces) based on the dance forms of the time. These suites were very popular in Bach's day, and could be considered the “easy listening” music of the mid-18th century.

This is the third movement of Bach's third suite of this type, written about 1730 and arranged here for viola. The term Gavotte for a lively dance originated in the 1690s from Provence in southern France. The Old Provençal word gavoto (mountaineer's dance) comes from gavot, a local name for an Alpine resident, which is said to mean literally "boor" or "glutton"! You can hear that this rather heavy-footed dance might well suit a country bumpkin....

Read 2705 times Last modified on Wednesday, June 17 2020 21:52