Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major

Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major

BWV 1069 performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
conducted by Lars Ulrik Mortensen
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam

  • Menu
  • 1. Ouverture
  • 2. Bourrée I & II
  • 3. Gavotte
  • 4. Menuet I & II
  • 5. Réjouissance

Behind the music

Story
Story
Extra videos
Extra videos
Credits
Credits

Dancing to a borrowed tune

Bach makes the best (literally) of a set of strict rules

A performance of this Orchestral Suite no. 4, a regal piece, usually involves trumpets and timpani. But this is not how we play it, which is a deliberate decision by harpsichordist and conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen, who says, “For years, it has been accepted that this piece started life without trumpets and timpani. The musicologist Joshua Rifkin wrote about it in 1997. If you compare the score to other pieces by Bach, you see that elsewhere the brass instruments always have a high degree of independence compared to the rest, and that this independence is lacking in the Orchestral Suite no. 4. Here, the trumpets are a supplement; no more than a colourful addition”.

The first version of the Orchestral Suite no. 4 undoubtedly dates from Bach’s early years in Weimar or Köthen. The piece seems to have held a special place in Bach’s heart, as he revived the top-heavy opening section, the Overture, in 1725, as the Sinfonia in the cantata BWV 110, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, which is when he added the trumpets and timpani.

After the opening section, with the strings and woodwind in opposition, Bach takes a surprising turn. Instead of the ‘standard dances’ the allemande and courante, he jumps straight into bourrées, a gavotte and minuets. And the ending is not a dance at all, but a Réjouissance, which means rejoicing.

Orchestral Suites, BWV 1066-1069
Although it is tempting to talk of the Four Orchestral Suites, it could well be the case that Bach wrote another one or two, or even ten of them. Because unlike the ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos, these Four Orchestral Suites are not related to one another. Specialists like Joshua Rifkin even regard them as arrangements of pieces from other genres. Bach simply wrote presentable festive music for the wealthy courts of Weimar and Cöthen; occasional music that later found a new home in the repertoire of the Collegium Musicum.

Bach’s Suites (series of stylised dances) exude the style and atmosphere of the dance music written by Lully at the court of Louis the Fourteenth. Nowadays, we call this a suite, but at the time it was known as an Overture, or opening piece. As a tribute to the king, such a succession of dances began with a stately opening that had a remarkably staccato rhythm – to which the king could make his entrance – followed by a somewhat faster, fugal middle section.

One interesting hypothesis about the relative dearth of suites by Bach is that he could not master the genre sufficiently. The model came directly from the Paris of Lully and would brook no competition. Particularly the pompous overture – with its slow-quick-slow, fugal middle section and ‘French’ rhythms – is typical… and maybe too restrictive for our young German Kapellmeister.

BWV
1069
Title
Ouverture in D major
Epithet
Orchestral Suite No. 4
Instrument
harpsichord
Genre
orchestral works
Serie
Orchestral suites
Year
unknown
City
Weimar/Cöthen?

Extra videos

Conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen

“This suite laughs, dances and swings.”

Vocal texts

Original

Translation

Credits

  • Release date
    27 April 2018
  • Recording date
    15 October 2017
  • Location
    Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
  • Harpsichord and direction
    Lars Ulrik Mortensen
  • Violin 1
    Shunske Sato, Emily Deans, Lidewij van der Voort
  • Violin 2
    Anneke van der Haaften, Paulien Kostense, Annabelle Ferdinand
  • Viola
    Deirdre Dowling, Femke Huizinga
  • Cello
    Lucia Swarts, Barbara Kernig
  • Double bass
    James Munro
  • Oboe
    Martin Stadler, Peter Frankenberg, Yongcheon Shin
  • Bassoon
    Benny Aghassi
  • Director
    Lucas van Woerkum
  • Music recording
    Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt, Pim van der Lee
  • Music edit and mix
    Guido Tichelman
  • Camera
    Jochem Timmerman, Martin Struijf, Thijs Struick
  • Lights
    Zen Bloot
  • Assistant director
    Stijn Berkhouwer
  • Set technique
    Dennis Hoek
  • Data handling
    Jesper Blok
  • Project manager nep
    Peter Ribbens
  • Interview
    Onno van Ameijde, Marloes Biermans
  • Producer concert
    Marco Meijdam
  • Producer film
    Jessie Verbrugh

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