This instrumental, flute-based song is an adaptation of the piece "Bourrée," written by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach version was written for lute, and is his fifth movement of the Suite in E minor for Lute. Also known as "Aufs Lautenwercke" (works for the Lute), Bach wrote the piece in the early 1700s.
A bourrée was a type of dance that originated in France with quick duple meter and an upbeat.[ Though the bourrée was popular as a social dance and shown in theatrical ballets during the reign of Louis XIV of France, the Bourrée in E minor was not intended for dancing. Nonetheless, some of the elements of the dance are incorporated in the piece.
Jethro Tull used the first part (first eight bars) of the piece in the third track in their August 1969 album Stand Up, "Bourée", which was also released as a single that year. Alternative versions of the same track appear on The Jethro Tull Christmas Album and A Little Light Music and is a band favorite for live concerts. In April 2011, a portion of this was also played as a duet by Cady Coleman from the ISS and Ian Anderson on tour in Perm, Russia.
