The Music Structure and Baroque Orchestra
The Badinerie follows binary form (AB structure), which was super popular during the Baroque period. It kicks off with an anacrusis (upbeat) and cleverly outlines the home chord of B minor right from the start.
Bach's orchestra was tiny compared to today's massive symphonies - just a chamber orchestra with two violin parts, viola, cello, double bass, and continuo. The real magic happened with the figured bass system, where the harpsichord player had to improvise the right-hand chords using only bass notes and numbers as guidance.
The first half modulates from B minor to its dominant key (F sharp minor), ending with loads of rapid semiquavers. The second half gets more adventurous, bouncing through different keys including E minor and D major before returning home to B minor.
Exam Essential: Notice how Bach uses perfect cadences, modulation, and ornaments like trills and appoggiaturas to create musical interest and structure.