Johann Sebastian Bach

Abstract

The minuet is the Baroque dance “par excellence,” first danced in Louis XIV’s court. One of its intrinsic characteristics is the deliberate contradiction between the movements and the music. Phrase lengths can also vary, thus creating even more intricate ambiguities between music and steps. Choreographic descriptions are given. As to tempo, the sources are by no means unanimous. Minuets in French court dances typically come in pairs, a tradition Bach generally follows: although no dynamic instructions are offered, the two Bach minuets examined here have clear stylistic differences. Minuet I has almost no slurs for the first eighteen bars; Montéclair’s bowings for the minuet are examined and used as an initial blueprint for this example. By contrast, the first half of Minuet II centers around a musette-like drone and is more legato in character. The Observations section provides detailed musical and technical advice, and source-derived quotations.