This Rondeau is an arrangement of the second of seven movements in an orchestral suite written by the German baroque composer J S Bach (1685 – 1750). Suites of dance movements, preceded by an introductory ‘Ouverture’ were a popular compositional form of the period.

Evidence of an earlier version, in a different key from the published work, has led scholars to debate whether Bach intended the primary instrument to be flute, violin or even oboe. It certainly would not have been clarinet, as the instrument did not exist in its current form at the time the piece was written!