Abdelazer, or The Moor’s Revenge is a 1676 adaptation by Aphra Behn of an English Renaissance tragedy written around 1600. The story centers on Eleazar, a prince and prisoner of the Spanish Court who attempts unsuccessfully to seize the Spanish crown, resulting in his death and that of many others. When the play was staged in the summer of 1695, famed British composer Henry Purcell wrote incidental music to accompany it, with the Rondeau written to be the opening music, after the Ouverture. This rondeau was then used by Benjamin Britten as the theme for his The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and has been featured frequently in film and television, including Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).
English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 V. Gavotte II (ou la Musette)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
A musette, or musette de cour or baroque musette, is a musical instrument similar to bagpipes. It uses a double reed, giving it a quieter sound, similar to the oboe, and was associated with the French court and aristocracy of the early 17th century, when “exotic” and traditional instruments were considered fashionable. After the French Revolution, the rather complicated French musette fell out of favor quickly while simpler forms of bagpipes remained popular as folk instruments.
Suite in G minor, BWV 822 Gavotte en Rondeau
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Originally composed for harpsichord, this gavotte en rondeau comes from the same suite as the famous minuet known in Suzuki Book 1 as Minuet 1. This suite shows Bach’s French influences. A gavotte en rondeau is a gavotte, a French folk dance characterized by beginning with a two-beat pickup, written as a rondeau, a musical form potentially based on the medieval poetic form of the same name. Rondeaus feature a recurring theme or refrain that repeats after several differing sections or themes.
Additional Performances
Bow Technique Demonstration
Jägerchor (“Hunters’ Chorus”) from Der Freischütz
Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)
Theme from La Streghe (“Witches’ Dance”)
Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840)
VI Menuets for Clavier (WoO 10) No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Humoresques for Piano, Op. 101 Poco lento e grazioso
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Kate Kulzick, Violin 