The bourrée (also borrèia[1]) is a dance of French origin common in Auvergne and Biscay in Spain in the 17th century. It is danced in quick double time, somewhat resembling the gavotte. The main difference between the two is the anacrusis, or upbeat; a bourrée starts on the last beat of a bar, creating a quarter-bar anacrusis, whereas a gavotte has a half-bar anacrusis. It often has a dactylic rhythm. In his Der Vollkommene Capellmeister (Hamburg, 1739), Johann Mattheson wrote of the bourrée, "its distinguishing feature resides in contentment and a pleasant demeanor, at the same time it is somewhat carefree and relaxed, a little indolent and easygoing, though not disagreeable".[2]
Composers such as J.S. Bach, Handel, and Chopin used the musical form of the bourrée. The dance survives to this day in the Auvergne and has been successfully "exported" to the UK and other countries. The bourrée of lower Auvergne, also called Montagnarde, is in triple time, while that of high Auvergne is in double time.
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The borrèia is a traditional dance common in Occitania. It is danced primarily in the Massif Central and in the department of Ariège. By extension, the songs to which the borrèia is danced are also called borrèias. Also called Montanhardas or Auvernhatas, they are in 2/4 or 3/4 time. The borrèia likely originated as a courtly dance; written references to the dance date to the 17th century. The first mention of the borrèia as a popular dance is found in a 1665 writing by Clermont-Ferrand.
Johann Sebastian Bach often used the bourrée in his suites as one of the optional dance movements that come after the sarabande but before the gigue, and he also wrote two short bourrées in his Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. Handel wrote several bourrées in his solo chamber sonatas (for example the fourth movement of his Oboe sonata in C minor); however, perhaps the best-known example of a bourrée is the seventh movement of the Water Music (Handel) suite. In the 19th Century, composers such as Frédéric Chopin and the Auvergne-born Emmanuel Chabrier wrote bourrées for the piano (such as the latter's Bourrée fantasque, composed 1891). The Victorian English composer, Sir Hubert Parry included a bourrée in his Lady Radnor Suite (1894). Another famous bourrée is part of Michael Praetorius's The Dances of Terpsichore.
The bourrée is also a ballet step consisting of a rapid movement of the feet while en pointe or demi-pointe. A pas-de-bourrée consists of bending both legs, extending one, then stepping up, up, down, finishing with bent knees. It is more commonly known as the 'behind side front' or 'back side front'. A pas-de-bourrée-piqué picks up the feet in between steps.[4]
The live form of the dance (and the music associated) is still danced during bal folks, in France, and in other countries.
The Bourrée has been utilized as a form by a number of pop and rock music bands. A few examples include: