The Suite
by Merryn Brose

The Suite or Partita (German) or Ordre (old French) or Sonata da Camera (old Italian) developed in the 16th century as a series of dance movements, usually composed in the one key for solo instruments or a group of instruments. These movements were arranged to contrast in tempo, mood and character which was largely due to the rhythm of the particular dance from which it came. Sometimes these movements were contrapuntal in style, sometimes not, usually quite short and were in binary form. That is, they consisted of two parts, each part repeated. There was usually a modulation to the dominant at the end of the first part with a return to the tonic in the second part.

The four basic movements of the suite of the Bach period were the:

• Allemande ---- (of German origin) a forthright sort of dance in a moderate tempo, with four beats in a bar, usually the first dance movement.
• Courante ---- (two versions, French and Italian) a lively dance in triple time. The Italian style was continuos running movement, or the French style which often had complex rhythms.
• Saraband ---- (of Spanish origin) a dignified, quiet dance in triple time, rich in harmonic embellishment, often with the accent on the second beat.
• Gigue ---- (found a great deal in England as the 'Jig'), a rapid and lively dance, sometimes three in a bar, or 6/8 and usually the last movement of the suite.

A prelude, not derived from any dance form, was often included at the beginning of the suite, and one or more additional dance forms such as the:

to name but a few.

The dance suite reached its height with Bach who wrote suites for solo violin, solo cello, keyboard and orchestra. In the 18th and 19th century, the suite gradually merged with and was superseded by the sonata.

These days, a suite is regarded as a collection of pieces that match. For example, because complete ballets may not regularly be performed, a composer or someone else might arrange for concert performance, some of the best movements such as Tchaikowsky's 'Nutcracker', or Stravinsky's 'Firebird'. Or suites are concert treatments of theatre music, e.g. the two suites from Bizet's 'L'Arlésienne'. Another type of suite is the descriptive suite, such as Ferde Grofé's 'Grand Canyon Suite'. Yet another is one of Vaughan William's 'Suite of English Folk Songs', originally for military band and later arranged for orchestra by Gordon Jacob. Occasionally the suite attempts to evoke the spirit of the past, e.g. Grieg's Holberg's Suite. Holberg was the founder of modern Danish-Norwegian literature and a contemporary of Bach and Handel, and this suite consists of Praeludium, Saraband, Gavotte and Musette, Air and Rigaudon. Sometimes a suite is written on very free lines and is simply strings of entertaining pieces.

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Merryn Brose is a presenter on 5MBS.