Bourrée in E minor
Lute composition by Johann Sebastian Bach; fifth movement of BWV 996 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bourrée in E minor is a popular lute piece, the fifth movement from Suite in E minor BWV 996 (BC L166) written by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1708 and 1717. The piece is arguably one of the most famous among guitarists.[1]
A bourrée was a type of dance that originated in France with quick duple meter and an upbeat.[2] Though the bourrée was popular as a social dance and shown in theatrical ballets during the reign of Louis XIV of France, the Bourrée in E minor was not intended for dancing.[2] Nonetheless, some of the elements of the dance are incorporated in the piece.[2]
Bach wrote his "lute" pieces in a traditional score rather than in lute tablature, and it is believed that Bach played these pieces on the Lautenwerk, a keyboard instrument acoustically imitating the lute.[2] No original script of the Suite in E minor for Lute by Bach is known to exist.[3] However, in the collection of one of Bach's pupils, Johann Ludwig Krebs, there is one piece ("Praeludio – con la Suite da Gio: Bast. Bach") that has written "aufs Lauten Werck" ("for the lute-harpsichord") in unidentified handwriting.[3] Some argue that despite this reference, the piece was meant to be played on the lute as demonstrated by the texture.[3] Others argue that since the piece was written in E minor, it would be incompatible with the baroque lute which was tuned to D minor.[4] Nevertheless, it may be played with other string instruments, such as the guitar, mandola or mandocello, and keyboard instruments, and it is especially well known among guitarists.[5] The tempo of the piece is fairly quick and smooth. It also demonstrates counterpoint, as the two voices move independently of one another.[1] Furthermore, the Bourrée in E minor demonstrates binary form.[6]
In classical music
Robert Schumann quotes the first 14 notes of this memorable theme (transposed to G minor) in #3 of the Op. 60, 6 Fugues on B–A–C–H, where he neatly combines it with the B♭ A C B motif. There also appears to be an echo of this reference in the next fugue, #4.
Jethro Tull version
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| "Bourrée" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jethro Tull | ||||
| from the album Stand Up | ||||
| B-side | "Fat Man" | |||
| Released | 13 October 1969 [7] | |||
| Recorded | April 24, 1969[8] | |||
| Studio | Olympic Studios, London, UK | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion, instrumental rock | |||
| Length | 3:46 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis, Island, Reprise, Fontana | |||
| Songwriter(s) | J.S. Bach, arr. Ian Anderson | |||
| Producer(s) | Ian Anderson, Terry Ellis | |||
| Jethro Tull singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jethro Tull used the first eight bars of the piece as the basis for the song "Bourée", from their 1969 album Stand Up.[9] Like many Jethro Tull songs, it prominently features Ian Anderson's flute playing. The song also includes a bass guitar solo, played by Glenn Cornick on the original recording. Alternate studio recordings appear on The Jethro Tull Christmas Album and the 25th Anniversary Box Set. It is a staple of the band's concerts, and appears on the live albums Bursting Out, A Little Light Music, Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, and Live at Montreux 2003, as well as the concert DVD Living with the Past.
In April 2011, Anderson played a duet version of the song with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, who was on board the International Space Station at the time, as a celebration of 50 years of human spaceflight.[10]
In popular culture
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The piece has been used by a number of musicians:
- Bola Sete covered the composition on his album Tour de Force from 1964
- Paul McCartney has said in interviews and on tours that the songs "Blackbird" and "Jenny Wren" were both inspired by variations and alterations to the bourrée.[11]
- The London Blues-rock group Bakerloo released their arrangement of the tune, titled "Drivin' Bachwards", as a single on Harvest Records (HAR 5004) in July 1969. The same recording appeared on their self-titled debut album (Harvest SHVL 762) the following December.
- Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin occasionally incorporated the opening melody of the piece into live performances of the song "Heartbreaker", during the song's guitar solo.[12]
- Tenacious D used the piece for their songs "Rock Your Socks", from their self-titled album, and "Classico", from the soundtrack of the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.[13]
- Yngwie Malmsteen has also been known to integrate this, among other works by Bach, into his live sets.[14][1]
- Leo Kottke performs "Bourrée" on the album Mudlark.[1]
- Lenny Breau re-harmonized this piece and recorded it on the album Minors Aloud under the title "On a Bach Bouree".
- Alter Bridge used this riff as the chorus to "Wayward One", the closing track of their 2007 album Blackbird.
- Jam-80 a short-lived Icelandic band featuring Björk recorded it on a demo cassette.
- It has been adapted for the Commodore 64 version of Black Lamp.
- Blizzard composer Glenn Stafford used it in the soundtrack for Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness in the second half of the song titled "Human 2".
- Blues Saraceno covered the bourrée on his 1994 album Hairpick. This version used Jethro Tull's arrangement.
- In 2014, German band Son of a Bach released[15] a heavy metal cover of the bourrée on YouTube, which was viewed almost 2 million times.
- Gabrielle McCarthy led the Flying Luttenbachers in a secret exhibition performance of a modern variant at Constellation Jazz Club in 2019.
See also
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External links
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