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The Baroque Instrumental Suite  

Suite: "an important instrumental form of Baroque music, consisting of a number of movements, each in the character of a dance and all in the same key." (Harvard Dictionary of Music, 1977).

In the sixteenth century, instrumentalists played a good deal of dance music. Dances became an important and popular diversion in courtly life, and the dancing master was considered to be equal to the court musician or the chapel singer.

When instrumentalists were asked to play music for non-dancing occasions, they often naturally resorted to playing the dance music they knew so well. As the 17^th century wore on demand for instrumental music grew, and instrumentalists began to collect groups of dances, all in the same tonality.

These groups of dances, eventually known as "suites", began to be published sometime during the middle of the century. Suites of this time might have anywhere from five to twenty-five different dances, and were not necessarily intended to be played in their entirety. Instead, instrumentalists would select dances from a suite and play them in whatever order they wanted.

Prominent 17^th century composers of suites included the French keyboardists, Chambonnieres, Louis Couperin, and Francois Couperin, and the German keyboardist Johann Jacob Froberger.

By Bach’s time, the suite consisted of four standard movements, plus several other optional ones. Interestingly, each of the standard movements is based upon a dance type from a different country. Also, each of these movement types has different metrical and rhythmic characteristics, and a distinct mood.

Bach added other movements, such as the menuet, gavotte, air, bouree, polonaise, and prelude, to complement the basic movements.

Instrumental suites were played by a variety of instruments: many were written for keyboard (mostly the harpsichord), but suites for solo lute were also popular. Bach wrote some great suites for solo violin and solo cello. Some suites were written for groups of instruments equivalent to our modern orchestra. Both Bach and Handel wrote such suites.

To hear examples of Bach’s French Suite in E-flat, BWV 815, click on the links in the table above.

Last updated 10/24/02