Bourrée

Nicolas Lebègue : Bourrée, Les Pieces de Clauessin 1677

The Bourrée (French; also Italian: borea; English: borry or bore) was a baroque court dance in fast 2/2 or Allabreve time , which was known since the late 16th century. It really came into fashion around 1660 at the court of Louis XIV and from then on spread throughout the rest of Europe.

As a folk dance, it was and is widespread in various regions of central France ( Auvergne , Berry, Morvan-Nivernais, Bourbonnais, Limousin).

Encyclopédie 1751

“BOURRÈE,… There is a dance called Bourrée: it is cheerful (“ gaie ”) & it is believed to come from the Auvergne: it is actually still in use in this province. It consists of three compound steps, with two movements. It begins with the beginning of a quarter note (“… une noire en levant”) .

Mouret made pretty bourrées; he introduced this genre of melody & dance in his ballets.

It was rarely used because this dance did not seem noble enough for the Théatre de l'Opéra.

The bourrée is in two-measure, and is made up of two parts, each of which consists of four measures, or a number that is a multiple of 4. It differs little from the Rigaudon. "

- Louis de Cahusac : L 'Encyclopédie , 1st right. édition, hrg. v. D'Alembert - Diderot, 1751 (Tome 2, p. 372).

origin

The Bourrée d'Auvergne (postcard, early 20th century)

It is generally believed that the Bourrée was originally a folk dance from Auvergne ; the dance specialist Louis de Cahusac reported this in 1751/1752 in the second volume of the Encyclopédie .

Margaret of Valois (also known as "La reine Margot") is said to have "discovered" the bourrée during her stay in Auvergne 1585–1586, and subsequently brought it to the French court. Corina Oosterveen objected some time ago that this idea was based on a wrong interpretation of the source, and she takes into account that the bourrée may have been adopted by the people as an originally courtly dance.

Michael Praetorius published a first musical version in his Terpsichore collection in 1612 under the title: " La Bourrée ".

According to Oosterveen, the Bourrée was first made by Jean Héroard (1551-1628), the personal physician of the young King Louis XIII. , mentioned in a letter. In the following years, the bourrée can be used as a court dance in various places. The Auvergne is not mentioned for the first time in connection with the Bourrée until fifty years later in Vichy: in 1665 by Fléchier as an urban practice (in Clermont-Ferrand ) and in 1675 in the Bourbonnais ( Vichy ) according to the report of Madame de Sévigné .

It was not until the 19th century that examples of rural 3/8-bourrées in the Auvergne can be documented.

music

Georg Muffat : Bourrèe , from Suite No. 2 (?). Advent Chamber Orchestra, 2007

typical rhythm of a bourrée melody.

The first written Bourrées come from the 17th century and are notated in straight time (e.g. Praetorius, Terpsichore 1612, or Georg Leopold Fuhrmann , 1615). Through French composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully , Michel Mazuel or Nicolas Lebègue , the courtly bourrée and its basic step pas de bourrée found from around 1660 as bourrée française in mostly upbeat lively 2/2 or Allabreve time (also 4/4 and 2 / 4) Entrance in ballet , opera and suite . Formally, like most dances, it is in two parts, the first part usually being 4 to 8 bars long, and the second often twice as long.

The Bourrée differs quite clearly from the Gavotte in that it has a short one-step start of only a quarter (in 2/2 or Allabreve), while the Gavotte's start is half-bar (i.e. two quarters in 2/2). Many Bourrées also have syncope in the last bar of a half-phrase or phrase; although this feature does not appear in every case or completely uniformly, it can be considered an important characteristic, especially in contrast to the gavotte, which regularly goes through without syncope. There are also family ties to the Rigaudon , which, however, usually begins with some very characteristic chord "strikes" that have nothing to do with the bourrée.

Although the bourrée came into fashion at about the same time as the menuet and gavotte at the court of Louis XIV, it never achieved the popularity of the two dances mentioned in France. She was z. B. is hardly used at all in French harpsichord music (exception: Nicolas Lebègue 1677 and 1687), and in French incidental music from Lully to Rameau it could not compete with the popularity of gavotte and menuet. According to Cahusac ( L'Encyclopédie 1751, vol. 2, p. 372) "... it was used little because this dance did not seem noble enough for the Théatre de l'Opéra."

Different bourrée rhythm.

In Germany the bourrée was more popular, although Mattheson also stated in 1739: "... This melody genre has, as far as I know, no such secondary types, or rather it has not degenerated as much as the gavot."

Johann Sebastian Bach liked and often used the bourrée. In his harpsichord suites she appears (like Menuet, Gavotte, etc.) between sarabande and gigue . Like Nicolas Lebègue before him, he often coupled it with a Bourrée II, after which the Bourrée I is repeated (e.g. in several English suites, in the French overture , also in three orchestral suites ). In orchestral suites by Telemann , Bach, Fasch , Graupner and others, the order is looser, and the bourrée can be placed anywhere after the overture.

Frédéric Chopin wrote his two Bourrées in A major and G major in 1846, which were never published during his lifetime. Since they lack an opus number, they are usually referred to by their Brown catalog numbers, B. 160b1 and B. 160b2. Like many of his smaller works, they were not published posthumously until 1968, contrary to his desire that all of his unpublished manuscripts be burned.

Bourée d'Achille by Pécour notated by Feuillet (1700)

Dance and pas de bourrée

The first published dance choreography of a Bourrée is the “Bourée d'Achille” by Pécour , in the notation by Raoul-Auger Feuillet (1700). The pas de bourée with two movements is not used by Feuillet; in Pierre Rameau it appears as a “real” pas de bourée , with a movement, and is identical to a fleuret.

The pas de bourrée later became a quick, gliding step in classical ballet , en pointe or demi-pointe ; it is one of the most widely used steps in ballet.

Mattheson 1739 on the character of the Bourrée

Ҥ 90. A melody that is more flowing, smooth, gliding and clinging to one another than the gavotte is

III. the bourrée ...

... But I have to say here that their real badge is based on contentment and a pleasant being, since something carefree or relaxed, a little careless, leisurely and yet nothing unpleasant is bequeathed.

§ 91 ... The word Bourrée in himself actually means something filled, stuffed, thick, strong, important, and yet soft or delicate, which is more adept at pushing, sliding or sliding than lifting, hopping or jumping ....

§ 92 ... He is truly not better suited to any kind of body shape than to a subordinate (sic!) ... "

- Johann Mattheson : "The Bourrée" (§ 90-92), in: Der Perfe Capellmeister 1739, pp. 225-226.

The bourrée in folk music

Bourrée in Auvergne, (postcard, around 1906)

In French folk music, various dances called bourrée have survived to this day. They are cared for in Auvergne, Morvan , Nivernais , Forez , Bourbonnais , Rouergue , Quercy , Haut-Agenais, Limousin , Marche , Berry , Sologne and Poitou . There are modern choreographies as partner dance, in a circle, in a carrée ( bourrée carrée , bourrée croisée , “ montagnardes” and “ auvergnates ”), dances of 6, round dances, so-called bourrées droites , tournantes , valsées , and row dances. One knows both dances in two-time as well as in three-time.

The bourrée in popular music

Bourrée from JS Bach's lute suite BWV 996 . Played on a lute

Johann Sebastian Bach's Bourrée in E minor (from the lute suite BWV 996 ) is evidently particularly popular in popular music. After the progressive rock band Jethro Tull recorded an instrumental piece inspired by it and released it on the album Stand Up in 1969 , the phrase was picked up several times by other groups, including Led Zeppelin (intro to Stairway to Heaven , live recording by Heartbreaker ) and by Jon Lord on his album Sarabande ; Paul McCartney named it as the inspiration for his song Blackbird .

literature

Johann Mattheson: Beginning of the Bourrée from Opus 1 No. 7

• Louis de Cahusac: Bourrée , in: L'Encyclopédie, 1 ^re éd., 1751, Tome 2 , texts établi par D'Alembert - Diderot , p. 372.See: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/L'Encyclopédie/1re_édition/BOURRÉE (accessed July 27, 2017).
• Johann Mattheson: The Bourrée (§ 90-92), in: Der Perfe Capellmeister 1739 , ed. v. Margarete Reimann, Kassel et al .: Bärenreiter, pp. 225–226.
• Corina Oosterveen: Bourrée, Bourrée, Bourrée . Publishing House of the Minstrels, 1999, pp. 7-18.
• Curt Sachs: A world history of dance . Olms, Hildesheim, 3rd edition 1992 (= reprint of the 1933 edition), p. 275.
• History of Margaretha von Valois, wife of Henry IV., Described by herself , trans. v. Dorothea Schlegel , with a preface by Friedrich Schlegel , publisher. v. Michael Andermatt, Zurich: Manesse Verlag 1996.
• Marguerite de Valois: Mémoires, rélation de la fête à Bayonne en 1565 . Le Mercure de France publishing house, 1971 and 1986, 75006 Paris, 26, rue de Condé. Original text translated by Corina Oosterveen.

Other sources (notes)

• Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue, Pièces de Clavecin, Premier Livre, 1677 , Facsimile, publ. sous la dir. de J. Saint-Arroman, Courlay: Édition JM Fuzeau, 1995.
• Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue, Le Second Livre de Clavessin, 1687 . Facsimile, publ. sous la dir. de J. Saint-Arroman, Courlay: Edition JM Fuzeau.

Web links

Commons : Bourrée  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Videos on YouTube :

• Praetorius "La Bourrée" (and "Spagnoletta", Bourrée starts at 1.19 min.) (Visited on July 27, 2017)
• Barocktanz 1, "Bourrée d'Achille" (+ Menuet), Golden Forests Dance Video (visited on July 27, 2017)
• Barocktanz 2, Bourrée from Handel's "Terpsicore", in the Baroque Theater of Český Krumlov (Czech Republic) (visited on July 27, 2017)
• Bourrée d'Auvergne (visited December 19, 2010)
• Danse Auvergne (Bourrée) (visited December 19, 2010)
• Jimmy Page: How Stairway to Heaven was written - BBC News (visited November 23, 2016)
• Bourrée, Johann Sebastian Bach - from: Suite in E minor BWV 996 - (visited on May 28, 2018)
• French Folk Dances, Book 3 - Bourrées, ed .: Karsten Evers and Ulrike Frydrych, 1986 - (visited on March 7, 2019)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682-1738), known as "musicien des graces" (Musician of the Graces), "Surintendant de musique" at the court of the Duchess du Maine in Sceaux ; wrote various stage works. He also wrote for the Comédie-Italienne in Paris and was director of the Concert Spirituel for a time .
2. ↑ https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/L'Encyclopédie/1re_édition/BOURRÉE . Original French text: “BOURRÉE,… Il ya une danse qu'on nomme la bourrée: elle est gaie, & on croit qu'elle nous vient d'Auvergne: elle est en effet toûjours en usage dans cette province. Elle est composée de trois pas joints ensemble, avec deux mouvemens. On la commence par une noire en levant. Mouret a fait de jolies bourrées; il a porté ce genre d'airs & de danse dans ses ballets. On l'a peu suivi, cette danse ne paroissant pas assez noble pour le théatre de l'opéra. (B) La bourrée est à deux tems, & composée de deux parties, dont il faut que chacune ait quatre mesures, ou un nombre de mesures multiple de quatre. Elle differe peu du rigaudon. "
3. ↑ Louis de Cahusac: "Bourrée", in: L'Encyclopédie, 1 ^re éd., 1751, vol. 2, p. 372.
4. ↑ History of Margaretha von Valois, wife of Henry IV., Described by herself , trans. v. Dorothea Schlegel , with a preface by Friedrich Schlegel , publisher. v. Michael Andermatt, Zurich: Manesse Verlag 1996, p. 231 f.
5. ^ Corina Oosterveen: Bourrée, Bourrée, Bourrée . Publishing House of the Minstrels, 1999, pp. 7-18. Oosterveen claims that Curt Sachs (in Eine Weltgeschichte des Tanzes , 1933) based the “legend” of an Auvergne origin on a passage from the memoirs of Margaret of Valois ; It is a description of a festival that took place in Bayonne in the Basque Country between 1564 and 1566 , but in which neither the Bourrée nor the Auvergne is mentioned: “All the tables were served by hosts of various shepherdesses in golden and satin cloths and in various costumes , corresponding to the various provinces of France. These shepherdesses, every time they stepped down from their wonderful ships ..., had each gathered as a small group in a separate meadow ... and each group danced in the manner of their province of origin. The Poitevines / from Poitou / with their bagpipes, the Provençals danced the volte to the sounds of their cymbals, Burgundy women and / women / from Champagne with a small oboe, as well as violins and village drums; the Bretons danced passe-pied and branles gays; and so all other provinces. "
6. ^ Corina Oosterveen: Bourrée, Bourrée, Bourrée . Publishing House of the Minstrels, 1999, pp. 7-18.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Blatter, Alfred (2007). Revisiting music theory: a guide to the practice , p.28. ISBN 0-415-97440-2 .
8. ↑ The Bourrée was not used in their harpsichord music by the following composers : Chambonnières , Louis Couperin , Hardel , Étienne Richard, de la Barre, Dumont , D'Anglebert (1689), Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1687 and 1707), Marchand ( 1702, 1703), Clèrambault (1703), Rameau , François Couperin , Jean-François Dandrieu , Daquin , Duphly. These are actually all the great clavecinists (and a few more).
9. ↑ Louis de Cahusac: Bourrée , in: L'Encyclopédie, 1 ^re éd., 1751, vol. 2, p. 372.
10. ↑ Johann Mattheson: "The Bourrée" (§ 90-92), in: The perfect Capellmeister 1739 , ed. v. Margarete Reimann, Kassel et al .: Bärenreiter, pp. 225–226.
11. ↑ In his Pièces de Clavecin of 1677 and 1687. See: Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue, Pièces de Clavecin, Premier Livre, 1677 , Facsimile, publ. sous la dir. de J. Saint-Arroman, Courlay: Édition JM Fuzeau, 1995. And: Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue, Le Second Livre de Clavessin, 1687 . Facsimile, publ. sous la dir. de J. Saint-Arroman, Courlay: Edition JM Fuzeau.
12. ↑ Johann Mattheson: "The Bourrée" (§ 90-92), in: The perfect Capellmeister 1739, ed. v. Margarete Reimann, Kassel et al .: Bärenreiter, pp. 225–226.
13. ↑ He Can Work It Out - Interview with McCartney in Bass Player magazine. ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.