Music That I'm Rediscovering

[I will provide links for these that point to recordings on YouTube later; I'm writing this on my phone, which isn't  'smart' enough to make it easy to paste URLs.]

The first is the finale of Bach's A minor solo violin concerto, BWV 1041.  This is a lovely piece of music, which is a favorite of violinists; all of its movements are at least excellent.  I heard the final movement recently, on the radio or somewhere, and now I'm obsessed with it!  It is sort of a jig, though it is in (compound) triple time.  I think other finales in Bach are also in compound triple time, though I could be wrong.  Some years ago, I bought a record of a couple of Bach violin concertos played by Viktoria Mullova, who was a Russian violinist touring Europe with her own little string ensemble at that time.  Now she is settled somewhere in Europe, and was married to a prominent conductor, until he died.  She was a pioneer of the 'One instrument per part' movement of the late Eighties and Nineties, and which is the dominant paradigm now.

Another favorite of mine, of which I have been reminded recently, is the Dance of the Cygnets (or ducklings) from Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky.  If you ever saw it danced, with four dancers with linked arms, it is an unforgettable sight, and the music will remind you of it every time!  My Dad got us a Little Golden Record of it when I was just about 5 or 6 (which was a very long time ago), and at that time I had seen no ballets at all, but I loved the music anyway!  The instrumentation is mostly woodwinds, with the double-reeds prominent (oboes and bassoons).  The strings enter in the middle section, with flutes adding a little shine.

Back to Bach for the next one: the opening chorus of the Cantata "What God has done is rightly done," BWV 26.  This piece was transcribed by William Walton for his ballet The Wise Virgins, where he orchestrates it far more richly.  Just as in the finale I described at the top, this piece also has a wonderful bass line that dances all by itself!  In the clips available on YouTube, if you watch the cellists and the double-bassist (usually only one), you see them practically dancing with their instruments.

Finally, a Waltz in C Sharp minor, by Chopin.  I don't know the opus numbers of the little Chopin I'm familiar with, so I'll have to make clear which Valse I mean by providing a link later.  (This is how Art Linkletter got his name.)