Term Paper Music

PUJALTE, Jasmine P. Musical Analysis

IV-9 St. James the Great November 28, 2014

The musical piece “Bourrée” by Johann Sebastian Bach is most popular among guitarists and is commonly played for dances and recitals. The song is the fifth movement from Bach’s Suite in E minor for Lute, BWV 996 (BC L166) and was formerly written by Bach in a traditional score despite it being made for lutes and other string instruments.   It is the musical form of the social dance “borrèia” which originated from France and Spain. The piece inspired many rock bands and famous artists like the Alter Bridge band who made the chorus of their song “Wayward Zone” using a similar tune and The Beatles whose songs “Blackbird” and “Jenny Wrenn” included distinctions of bouree in its composition.

Bouree is in the Key signature of E minor and the key does not change all through the score. Many naturals and accidentals are found in the piece like in measure two where the quarter note after the eight note is played as a D sharp and in the third measure with sharps canceled out because of the naturals placed beside the eight notes. The song is in the time signature of alla breve or cut time which means that the half note is counted as one beat instead of two. Bourree is in the tempo, Allegro Vivace or Allegrisimo which means very fast. It is evident when the song is about to end because the tempo slows down a little and the movement is from soft to loud. The speed of the song supports the purpose of dancing and the overall mood of the piece is merry and pleasant.

The song has a counterpoint structure wherein two sections are played simultaneously with different...