It is unknown when Johann Sebastian Bach originally
wrote his Suite for Orchestra No. 4 in D major, BWV
1069. The original version has never been found. Some
scholars believe that the original music was absorbed
into his Cantata 110 from 1725, which narrows down the
work's date somewhat; it was not written after 1725, if
this theory is correct. The third version takes the
instrumental parts back out of the cantata and realizes
them again for strings, oboes, trumpets, timpani,
strings, and contin...(+)
It is unknown when Johann Sebastian Bach originally
wrote his Suite for Orchestra No. 4 in D major, BWV
1069. The original version has never been found. Some
scholars believe that the original music was absorbed
into his Cantata 110 from 1725, which narrows down the
work's date somewhat; it was not written after 1725, if
this theory is correct. The third version takes the
instrumental parts back out of the cantata and realizes
them again for strings, oboes, trumpets, timpani,
strings, and continuo. The orchestral suite is also
called an overture; these terms are used
interchangeably, though the opening movement of this
genre is called an overture as well. It is generally
made to imitate a collection of excerpts from French
ballets and operas. French culture held sway over much
of the rest of Europe in the eighteenth century. Many
composers worked on this genre to the extent that it
was the cornerstone of their output. Telemann, the most
famous composer residing in Germany during Bach's
lifetime, wrote upwards of over 1000 such orchestral
suites. The beginnings of these orchestral suites
imitates what one expects from an overture of a French
grand opera, a poised, regal beginning, featuring the
dotted rhythms that French aristocrats were
particularly fond of in that day. These openings were
then followed by collections of dances. There were
general, fixed rules to how these dances were laid out,
but those rules did not hold Bach fast. In general,
this was not the sort of thing he enjoyed writing. His
music tended to be either serious, or sacred, or both.
He wrote a phenomenal amount of cantatas. Orchestral
suites were something of a fluffier nature,
foreshadowing the impending Gallant period. They were
optimal for garden parties, trade fairs, and civic
celebrations of all kinds, as well as an excellent
source of income.
Bach wrote only four known orchestral suites, but he
wrote them skillfully. Each of them is festive and fun.
The secret ingredient in his overtures was to inject a
bit of the Italian influence into each one. For all
intents and purposes, Italian music was much more
critical to Bach's style than French music ever was,
particularly in his absorption of Vivaldi's concerto
style, which brought out a speedy, visceral quality.
Thus the lofty tones of the French sound never gets
turgid or boring. Among the four orchestral suites, the
fourth has some of the sweetest, loveliest qualities.
It is in five movements, and is under 20 minutes in
duration. Never intended for close listening, these
pieces often reveal the good nature of a man who
usually only offers ecstatic visions and musical
epiphany. There are also many unearthed works by Bach
for keyboard that are not intended as art, but these
are meant for teaching, and the sort of accidental
beauty they contain is different from the orchestral
suites. They were meant as part of a perfect day, not
for correcting performance problems. Listeners are
recommended to enjoy these pieces without worrying
about close listening. A similar collection of works,
the Brandenburg Concertos, have a lot more in them for
hearers to wrap their minds around. A comparison will
reveal the orchestral suites to be airier, with more
emphasis on engaging propulsion (the Italian influence)
while the concertos have denser and more inspired
contrapuntal lines. The question of quality is not
really a fair one in this context; Bach's orchestral
suites do exactly what they are supposed to do. It is
also pleasant to take what the genius regards as simply
"pleasant."
Source: AllMusic
(http://www.allmusic.com/composition/orchestral-suite-n
o-4-in-d-major-bwv-1069-mc0002366402).
Although originally written for 3 Oboes, Bassoon, 3
Trumpets, Timpani, Strings & Continuo, I created this
Arrangement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major
(BWV 1068) for Small Orchestra (Piccolo Trumpet, Bb
Trumpet, French Horn, Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet,
Bassoon, Timpani, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).
