What is a Minuet?

Hi everyone! This is Eizaz here and today I'm here to talk about something called a "minuet". No, not "minute", "minuet". For those of you who study classical music I'm sure you may be wondering what the word means, especially since so many songs that we learn have it as a title!

Basically a minuet is a classical European dance originating from France. Its name is adapted from the Italian word "minuetto" meaning (small/little/delicate - in today's language, cute). The minuet is usually found in 3/4 time, meaning three beats per bar, however some composers have written quicker minuets in the time of 3/8 or even 6/8.

One of the most famous composers to expand the minuet was the Italian composer Jean-Baptiste de Lully, and after him continued by the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel. As such many of the European Baroque dances soon fell out of popularity but the minuet survived in many forms and even found its way into full orchestra pieces which are still played until today.

Perhaps one of the most famous of minuets is Bach's Minuet In G, copied from the "Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach", which was a collection of popular pieces of music at the time. It is interesting to note that Bach did not compose the music; the composer of the piece was recognized in the 1970s as Christian Petzold.

Enjoy this piece of lovely music which has lasted for centuries - and many more centuries to come!