Notes on JS Bach's Badinerie

Form and Structure

• Binary Form (AB)
  • Section A: 16 bars long
  • Section B: 24 bars long
• Repetitions: Each section is repeated (AABB)

Background Details

• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
  • A prominent composer of the Baroque era
• Piece: Badinerie is the last of seven movements from Orchestral Suite No. 2
• Composition Date: Between 1738-1739

Instrumentation

• Instruments: Flute, string orchestra, and harpsichord
• Score Parts: Flute, violin 1, violin 2, viola, and cello
  • Harpsichord reads from the cello line and adds chords with the right hand

Texture

• Homophonic: Melody and accompaniment
  • Flute and Cello: Provide main musical material
  • 1st Violin: Participates occasionally
  • 2nd Violin and Viola: Provide harmony with less busy lines

Metre and Rhythm

• Time Signature: Simple duple time (2/4)
  • Two crotchet beats per bar
• Rhythms: Ostinato rhythms
  • Musical Ideas: Based on two short ideas (X and Y) with quavers and semi-quavers

Harmony

• Diatonic: Mixture of root position and inverted chords
  • Includes V7 chords and a Neapolitan sixth chord
• Cadences: Imperfect and perfect cadences are present
  • Both sections end with a perfect cadence

Tonality

• Section A: Begins in B minor (tonic) and ends in F# minor (dominant minor)
  • Modulates through A major
• Section B: Begins in F# minor (dominant minor) and ends in B minor (tonic)
  • Modulates through E minor, D major, G major, and D major

Dynamics

• General Dynamic Level: Mostly forte throughout
  • No dynamic markings on the score
  • Terraced dynamics are included in some recordings

Tempo

• Allegro: Quick, lively, bright
  • Tempo is not marked on the score

Melody

• Musical Motifs: Based on two motifs
  • Both motifs start with an anacrusis
  • Motif X: Entirely disjunct
  • Motif Y: Combines disjunct and conjunct movement
• Ornaments and Devices: Trills, appoggiaturas, and sequences typical of the period