The origins of Johann Sebastian Bach's four orchestral suites go back to the court of Louis XIV and his brilliant composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. In keeping with French taste, Lully's operas abounded with instrumental dances. Outside of opera performances, this music took on a life of its own in the form of suites with dance movements.
Typically, the center of attention in an orchestral suite was the opening section, a French overture consisting of two large, repeating parts: the first was majestic, with marked rhythms; the second was lively, fugal, but usually ending with a return to the majestic spirit (and sometimes themes) of the first section. The overture was followed by a loosely organized suite of dances in the same vein.
The third suite is written for three clarino trumpets, timpani and two oboes (the addition of bassoon in the basso continuo part is implied). Such instrumentation suggests joy, and it is certainly present in the suite, but there is also a wide range of other moods. The overture follows a typical form in which the oboes duplicate the violins most of the time. The fugal vite section is particularly effervescent, and at the end it is softened by a return to the stately rhythms of the opening section.
The Air that follows, for strings alone, is perhaps the best known and most sublime movement among Bach's orchestral suites. The long line of the first violin unfolds its cantilena against a striding bass line, while the inner strings provide support and occasional counterpoint commentary.
The rest of the suite is written for full orchestra. A pair of gavottes are performed first, the first joyous and aristocratic, the second in the manner of a stately country dance with a recurring opening motif. In the moving Bourrée, the strings lead the main lines and the other instruments emphasize the characteristic rhythms. In the final Gigue, the high trumpets stand out. Their lines, supported by the entire orchestra, dialog with the strings alone, concluding the suite in an atmosphere of celebration.