suite, in music, a group of self-contained instrumental movements of varying character, usually in the same key. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the period of its greatest importance, the suite consisted principally of dance movements.
The dance suite was a collection of dance music popular in the Baroque era.
Baroque dance, a precursor of classical ballet, was established and developed in France at the court of Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715) during what we now call the Baroque period. At this time, French culture was highly influential in fashionable society and the new style of dancing was no exception.
During the Baroque period (1600-1750), it was common to group a set of shorter dances together forming a SUITE. The dances were contrasted – some faster and some slower and the music reflected this by changing tempo accordingly.
Baroque dance suites normally comprised four movements: the allemande, a German Baroque dance, the courante, a moderate-tempo French baroque dance (or the ''corrente'', an Italian version with a faster tempo), the sarabande, a Spanish Baroque dance initially fast and wild but later slow and dignified, and the Irish or ...
Suites in music developed initially from dances of the sixteenth century in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and England. By the mid-seventeenth century, around 1650, suite music had diverged from the dances to become collections of short instrumental pieces played one after the other.
Famous Baroque Dance Suites written for orchestra include Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music and J. S. Bach's Orchestral Suites. Suites were sometimes written for a solo instrument (e.g. the Harpsichord) such as J. S. Bach's French and English Suites.
The Baroque dance suite originated from a set of dances popular during the late Renaissance, and was further developed during the early baroque period.
as well as the social ideologies that stemmed from the humanistic movement in the Italian Renaissance, cultural context is deeply embedded within the movement, choreography, and performance of Baroque dance. It engages not only the physical dancing body, but also the cosmic and social bodies as well.
The Baroque dance suite originated from a set of dances popular during the late Renaissance, and was further developed during the early baroque period.
Baroque dance suites normally comprised four movements: the allemande, a German Baroque dance, the courante, a moderate-tempo French baroque dance (or the ''corrente'', an Italian version with a faster tempo), the sarabande, a Spanish Baroque dance initially fast and wild but later slow and dignified, and the Irish or ...
Famous Baroque Dance Suites written for orchestra include Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music and J. S. Bach's Orchestral Suites. Suites were sometimes written for a solo instrument (e.g. the Harpsichord) such as J. S. Bach's French and English Suites.
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