Help with Bach's minuets

This?

http://petrucci.mus....nuet_G_A116.pdf

...well...

Aspirante wrote:

I have always known that the minuet is in 3 parts, maybe I am wrong.

Why do Bach's seem to me (and I repeat) seem to me to be divided into 2 parts?

Look at BWV Anh. 116 in G major

Thanks in advance

The Minuet itself is bipartite (all minuets are), but people often speak of tripartite form referring to "Minuet-Trio-Minuet da capo".

What characterizes the Baroque-era minuet is its moderate triple meter and the elegant character typical of court dances. The structure could be tripartite or even just bipartite. In fact, the tripartite scheme arises from ensemble music, where the central part (Trio) was performed by only three instruments (e.g., a bassoon and two oboes, or basso continuo and a solo instrument) and juxtaposed (often also harmonically) to the others entrusted to the "tutti". In suites for solo keyboard, however, the bipartite structure is very frequent.

Ok, everything is much clearer. Do you know of any specific texts to enrich your precise indications?

Thanks again

There are 2 types of Baroque Minuet:

a. Single Minuet; e.g., from French Suite No. 2 in C minor BWV 813: a minuet in a single movement, bipartite but not in a macro-formal sense (minuet-trio) but rather as the structure of the movement (first section going from tonic to relative/dominant, second section from relative/dominant through a brief "development" returning to the tonic); furthermore, the thematic material is unitary, there are no insertions of new elements, and the second section is a sort of elaboration of the first. On the other hand, this is the same procedure used for the other movements of the suites (allemande, courante, gigue; also in the sarabande, which however presents a sort of tripartite structure with the "reprise" of the incipit in the tonic towards the conclusion).

b. Paired Minuet with da capo; e.g., from English Suite No. 4 in F major BWV 809: minuet I (see case a, with unitary thematic material and bipartite structure) + minuet II (with a reduction in writing density, thus a true trio). In this case, the 2 thematic materials are different and the 2 pieces are therefore independent. The same thing happens for Gavottes (the one from the English suite in G major is famous, with the II being a Musette) and Bourrées.

Then in the Classical period, type b becomes established, which, evolving, will later lead to the Scherzo in the 1800s.

Thanks to you too, Zedef!