Bourrée in E minor explained

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 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

Bourrée
Type:	single
Artist:	Jethro Tull
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
Producer:	Ian Anderson, Terry Ellis
Prev Title:	Living in the Past
Prev Year:	1969
Next Title:	Sweet Dream
Next Year:	1969

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, , 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

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 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

• List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach

External links

• • Sheet Music
• Sheet Music from Mutopia
• Guitar Information
• The Origin of Jethro Tull's Bourrée

Notes and References

1. Book: Mark Phillips. Jon Chappell. Guitar Exercises for Dummies. 2008. For Dummies. 978-0-470-38766-5. 87.
2. Book: Nancy Bachus. Daniel Glover. The Baroque Spirit, Bk 2: Book & CD. 2000. Alfred Music Publishing. 978-0-7390-0502-6. 28.
3. Book: Hannu Annala. Heiki Mätlik. Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers. 2008. Mel Bay Publications. 978-0-7866-5844-2. 32.
4. Book: Johann Sebastian Bach. Jozsef Eotvos. J. S. Bach: The Complete Lute Works. 2002. Mel Bay Publications. 978-0-7866-6819-9. vi.
5. Web site: Elizabeth T. Knuth . Bourrée . 2007-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071211193124/http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/mandotab/bourree.html . 2007-12-11 . dead .
6. Book: Bill Purse. The PrintMusic! primer: mastering the art of music notation with Finale PrintMusic!. 2003. Hal Leonard Corporation. 978-0-87930-754-7. 164.
7. Web site: Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl. dutchcharts.nl. 26 March 2023.
8. Book: Rabey . Brian . A Passion Play: The Story of Ian Anderson & Jethro Tull . 15 September 2013 . SoundCheck Books . London . 978-0957144248 . 52 .
9. Jethro Tull, Scott Allen Nollen, Ian Anderson (McFarland, 2001) Page 47
10. Web site: Stephanie Schierholz. NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Perform First Space-Earth Flute Duet. 2011-04-12. 2017-11-12. https://archive.today/20171112161441/https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/apr/HQ_11-108_Coleman_space_duet.html#. 2017-11-12. live.
11. Web site: Bass Player . He Can Work It Out . 2007-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071018223349/http://www.bassplayer.com/article/he-can-work/oct-05/13698# . 2007-10-18 . dead .
12. Web site: Songfacts . Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin. 2007-12-18 .
13. Web site: Kickass Classical . The Most Popular Classical Music . https://web.archive.org/web/20060402201849/http://kickassclassical.com/ . dead . 2006-04-02 . 2007-12-18 .
14. Web site: Chordie . Bachs Bouree by Yngwie Malmsteen . 2007-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110609104814/http://www.chordie.com/chord.pere/www.ultimate-guitar.com/print.php?what=tab&id=211377 . 2011-06-09 . dead .
15. Web site: Son of a Bach - Bourrée. 26 March 2023. www.youtube.com.