Jigs!

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As far as we know, a "jig" was a medieval dance that was so popular it survived well into the Renaissance.  The same dance was called a Gigue in France, and many of the greatest composers wrote Gigues.

I'm pretty sure I've written about jigs before, but hey, why not write about them again?  I'm going to search for jigs on YouTube, and select the jollier ones for you folks; how's that?

Here's Mischa Maisky with a gigue from Bach, played for an unaccompanied 'cello. (It was written that way.)





Here is the last movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (made famous in Love Story):


Here is the last movement of Bach's wonderful Suite No. 3 in D major.  (The Suite No. 4 is also in D major; that was a common key to accommodate valveless trumpets of that time.)



In my own mind, the poster-boy for a Jig is "Pop Goes the Weasel", a popular nursery rhyme:


Here is a Bach organ fugue called the Jig Fugue (by English-speakers, of course).

Here is a harpsichord jig by Handel:


One of the most delightful jigs are in Handel's famous Watermusic Suites.  Here's one:


Finally, here is one of my favorites: the Gigue from Bach's French Suite No. 5 in G major.