Air no. 3 in rondeau

To demonstrate how easily designs for social dance music can be (and almost certainly were) manipulated to create different sequences, here is Bacquoy-Guedon's Air no. 3 [see previous post] reconstructed: (1) to expand the opening section to a 16mm theme, a period whose antecedent is the original 8-bar period and whose consequent alters the ending to form a perfect authentic cadence (PAC); (2) to create the five-part rondeau design, ABACA, that is frequently found in French contredanse publications, especially later in the 18th century. My version differs from those of Clarchies in that section C is in the original key, where a trio-like minor-key strain would be more likely. It does, however, introduce some chromaticism (in F-nat5) and is an unusual length (12 bars rather than 8). With all the repeats included, and assuming one second per bar, this rondeau design yields over two minutes of music.

Other examples of this kind of formal manipulation may be found in chapter 2 of my PDF essay Dance Designs in 18th and Early 19th Century Music: link.     [NOTE: link updated 6-09-16]