This is what I said for my speech for Minuet and Trio:
Minuet and Trio first appeared around 1650 as a dance at court of Louis XIV of France. The dance was danced in the Baroque period and was a triple metered dance. The dance was danced lightly on the balls of the feet, with heels only just of the floor and feet turned out slightly. Minuet then moved into the symphony and is used as the third movement of the symphony. Minuet and trio was made for listening as it was quicker than the dance music.
The
number that describes minuet and trio the best is the number three. This is
because it is commonly heard as the third movement of classical symphonies and
string quartets. Buts that not it minuet and trio is in triple meter for
example 3 4 and it consists of three main sections. Within these sections they
are broken down into three parts. A
minuet and trio is in ternary form, this meaning a b a. in each of these parts
they break into their own ternary forms.
So a
minuet and trio brakes into a minuet, b trio then a minuet again. Instruments
In
the a (minuet) it plays a then repeats it then b followed by a again then a and
b are repeated.
After
the minuet the trio is played. The trio
got its name as in the early days the middle minuet was traditionally performed
by three, henes the name trio. Within
the trio c is played then repeated then d followed by c is played and then d
and c are repeated.
After
the trio is played the minuet is then played again but this time without
repeats. So it goes a then b then a again.This
video will help you understand minuet and trio form a bit more. The name of the
piece is eine kleine nacht musik, this means a little night music.
What
is the difference between trio and minuet? A trio is traditionally performed
with three interments. The trio is softer than the minuets. The minuet is performed in the tonic key and
the trio is performed in a different key.
So
what are the characteristics of minuet and trio? It is in moderate tempo, trio
is performed with three interments, ternary, trio is softer than minuets, third
movement of symphony, quicker music than the dance music.
Minuet
and trio is in the symphony what comes before and after? The symphony consists
of four movements. The first movement is fast and is sonata form, the second
movement is slow this can be sonarta, sonatine, rondo or theme and variations.
The third is moderately and this is minuet and trio or scherzo and trio.
Finally the fourth is fast this can be sonatas, rondo or sonata- rondo.
The minuet later devolved as the scherzo. This was a liver form of the minuet. It is usually faster, more playful and often includes rhythmic jokes. Scherzo is an Italian word for joke, because it would be a joke to try and dance to it.
