Gavotte en Rondeau

Gavotte en Rondeau (1720)

from Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006

J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750)

Alto or Tenor Saxophone Solo with piano

Gavotte en Rondeau by J.S. Bach arranged for Alto or Tenor Saxophone solo with piano. This gavotte is the third movement from the Partita #3 for Solo Violin by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is one of Bach’s most instantly recognizable pieces. Playful and lively, this movement is based off the leaping French gavotte rhythm but presented here en rondeau, or in a Rondo style, with the main theme returning in multiple variations. It has been recorded dozens of times and used in many film and TV scores. A recording of Gavotte en Rondeau was included on the Voyager Golden Record, attached to the Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977, as a sample of the culture of Earth.

This arrangement of Gavotte en Rondeau is for Alto or Tenor Saxophone Solo with piano. It is transposed to the key of E flat (the original is in the key of E). As the gavotte repeats several times, an optional alternate ending for a shorter and less technically demanding performance is indicated at the end of the third statement of the rondeau. The performance time of the short version is about 1′:15″ as opposed to 2′:30″ for the full version.

• The range for each saxophone part is shown below.
• Audio and score excerpts are available above.
• Registered users can download a complete sample score and full length audio file of Gavotte en Rondeau on the ‘Samples’ tab.