Bourée from Water Music
Listening Guide
Embedded Files
The English Concert, on period instruments. Trevor Pinnock, conductor.
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Composition: Bourée from Water Music
Date: 1717
Genre: stylized dance movement from a suite
Form: Binary form, AABB, performed here three times; B is twice as long as A
Performing Forces: Baroque orchestra: according to the musical score, 2 trumpets, 2 horns, 2 oboes, 1 bassoons, 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cello, and basso continuo (the cellos play the same music as the bassoon)
What we want you to remember about this composition:
- It's a stylized dance.
- It's in duple time and starts with a pick up (a note that appears before the first beat of the measure).
- It has a relatively fast tempo.
Other things to listen for
- The A section is half the length of the B section; each section is repeated
- The strings and woodwind instruments alternate taking the lead in this performance
- The cello, bassoon, and harpsichord make up the basso continuo
Timing
Timing
Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
Text and Form:
Text and Form:
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