Suite (music) facts for kids

In music, a suite (pronounced "sweet") is a group of short musical pieces played one after another. These pieces are usually based on dances. The French word “suite” means “a sequence” or “things following each other.”

What is a Music Suite?

A music suite is like a collection of songs that belong together. Imagine a playlist where each song is a different dance, but they all fit nicely as a set. In the past, composers often wrote suites for people to listen to or dance to.

Early Suites: Dance Collections

During the 17th century, many famous composers like Bach and Handel wrote suites. These were often collections of popular dances of the time.

The most common dances found in these suites were:

• An allemande (a German dance)
• A courante (a fast French dance)
• A sarabande (a slow Spanish dance)
• A gigue (a lively English or Irish dance)

Sometimes, other dances were added, such as a minuet, gavotte, passepied, or bourree.

Starting a Suite

Often, the first piece in a suite wasn't a dance at all. It was an introduction, like a warm-up for the rest of the pieces. This introduction might be called a prelude or even an overture. Some of Bach’s suites were given special names like Partitas. The French composer François Couperin called his suites Ordres.

Famous Composers and Their Suites

Bach wrote suites for orchestra that he called "overtures." Handel created two very well-known collections of dance pieces for orchestra: Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. Even though they don't have "suite" in their titles, they are examples of suites.

Handel also wrote 22 suites for keyboard instruments. Bach composed "French Suites," "English Suites," and "Partitas" for keyboard. He also wrote partitas for violin and suites for cello that were meant to be played by a single instrument without any other accompaniment.

When Suites Changed

While earlier composers from the Renaissance period also wrote similar collections, the word “suite” itself wasn't commonly used until the mid-17th century. By the 1750s, composers started to focus more on new forms of music like the symphony (a large piece for orchestra) and the concerto (a piece for a solo instrument with orchestra). Because of this, writing suites became less popular for a while.

Suites Today: New Meanings

In the late 19th century, the word "suite" started to be used again, but sometimes for different kinds of music.

Ballet and Opera Suites

Composers who wrote operas or ballets often had many popular dance pieces within them. They would then arrange these pieces for an orchestra so they could be played in concerts. For example, Tchaikovsky created the "Nutcracker Suite." This suite includes the most popular dances from his famous ballet, "The Nutcracker."

Suites with a Theme

Some composers used the word "suite" for pieces where all the movements shared a common theme. Gustav Holst called his famous work "The Planets" a suite because each movement is about one of the planets in our solar system.

French composers from the Impressionist period, such as Ravel and Debussy, also wrote suites for piano. These suites often created a certain mood or picture with their music.

See also

In Spanish: Suite para niños