Bourrée in E minor

In classical music#

Robert Schumann quotes the first 14 notes of this memorable theme (transposed to G minor) in #3 of the Op. 60, 6 Fugues on B–A–C–H, where he neatly combines it with the B A C B motif. There also appears to be an echo of this reference in the next fugue, #4.

Jethro Tull version#

Jethro Tull used the first eight bars of the piece as the basis for the song “Bourée”, from their 1969 album Stand Up. Like many Jethro Tull songs, it prominently features Ian Anderson’s flute playing. The song also includes a bass guitar solo, played by Glenn Cornick on the original recording. Alternate studio recordings appear on The Jethro Tull Christmas Album and the 25th Anniversary Box Set. It is a staple of the band’s concerts, and appears on the live albums Bursting Out, A Little Light Music, Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, and Live at Montreux 2003, as well as the concert DVD Living with the Past. In April 2011, Anderson played a duet version of the song with NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, who was on board the International Space Station at the time, as a celebration of 50 years of human spaceflight.

In popular culture#

The piece has been used by a number of musicians: *Bola Sete covered the composition on his album Tour de Force from 1964 *Paul McCartney has said in interviews and on tours that the songs “Blackbird” and “Jenny Wren” were both inspired by variations and alterations to the bourrée. *The London Blues-rock group Bakerloo released their arrangement of the tune, titled “Drivin’ Bachwards”, as a single on Harvest Records (HAR 5004) in July 1969. The same recording appeared on their self-titled debut album (Harvest SHVL 762) the following December. *Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin occasionally incorporated the opening melody of the piece into live performances of the song “Heartbreaker”, during the song’s guitar solo. *Tenacious D used the piece for their songs “Rock Your Socks”, from their self-titled album, and “Classico”, from the soundtrack of the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. *Yngwie Malmsteen has also been known to integrate this, among other works by Bach, into his live sets. a heavy metal cover of the bourrée on YouTube, which was viewed almost 2 million times. *Gabrielle McCarthy led the Flying Luttenbachers in a secret exhibition performance of a modern variant at Constellation Jazz Club in 2019.

See also#

*List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach

External links#

• Sheet Music
• Sheet Music from Mutopia
• Guitar Information
• The Origin of Jethro Tull’s Bourrée