Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor

Characterised by its solo flute, and in a key associated with sombre introspection, BWV 1067 is arguably the most intimate and confiding of the four Orchestral Suites. It may have been the last of the set to have been composed, and possibly draws on a previous incarnation spotlighting solo violin. The incorporation of a flute—emblematic of royalty—and of a “Polonaise” (an aristocratic dance of Polish lineage) has fuelled speculation that it might have been conceived as a homage to the King of Poland after Bach became Augustus’ Honorary Kapellmeister in 1736. French in contour, but with a nod to Italy in the concerto-like flute writing (not to mention that of a violin in the “Overture”), BWV 1067 mixes learned counterpoint and irresistible playfulness in equal measure. The theme of the “Polonaise”, for example, surreptitiously migrates to the bass for the middle section, where it duets with a flute now given to rhapsodic arabesques. And by way of conclusion Bach opts for a scintillating “Badinerie”, a finale as teasing and light-hearted as that which closes the solo harpsichord Overture in the French Style, BWV 831—also in B minor. About J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suites Unlike the six Brandenburg Concertos, Bach’s Orchestral Suites (he designated them Ouvertüren⁠—Overtures) were not conceived as a set. And though they probably achieved their final form in Leipzig, where they would have been perfect for the convivial coffee-house gatherings of the student Collegium Musicum, their composition likely spans more than two decades (culminating in BWV 1067 dating from the late 1730s). The design leans on the French model nurtured by Lully, in which a sequence of dance movements is preceded by an overture whose outer sections, full of pomp and circumstance, bookend a faster, fugal core. While the ground plan is French, however, Bach inevitably bends it to his own purposes, and no two suites are exactly alike.