The Suite in a-minor is one of the more than 600 orchestral suite/ouvertures composed by the prolific Telemann during a very short period. The music simply flowed from his pen.

It was in this genre and a few others of importance in the Baroque that Telemann experimented with his musical ideas, much as Beethoven would do with the sonata and Mozart with the Concerto.  Nearly all orchestral suites of the major composers of the Baroque, including Bach, began with a French Overture.  Telemann begins with the same but changes its successive musical events.  Instead of the usual fugue which followed the overture, Telemann substitutes a fast, triple-time vivace ingeniously scored for flute against a flowing, single-line string accompaniment.  Then the suite of dance movements begins.  First is the fanciful Les Plaisirs, a rapid and energetic movement filled with charm and exuberance.  The long and graceful, Air a l’italien suggests an aria from perhaps a Scarlatti opera with the flute singing the soprano solo.  The central movement is a faster, more decorative flute solo; as per the usual da capo with the Air returning to complete the movement.   Next come two Menuet’s , one stately, the other bouncy and good humored.   Next follows a simple but stately Rejouissance, (rejoicing) which has its character based in the opening Les Plaisirs.   The following pair of dances, Passepieds I and II, are in both major and minor keys and followed by a pair of Polonaises.

The work is an extraordinary example of the extended suite with multiplicity of movements and styles. It demonstrates the extent and range the suite could support, even if most composers neglected to explore its large-scale possibilities.