The Air on the G String is an adaptation of Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Air. The air is usually played slowly and freely, and features an intertwining harmony and melody. “Bach” redirects here. ... Air (french for: Aria; also: Ayr, Ayre), a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions. ...

History

The original piece is part of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, written for his patron Prince Leopold sometime between the years 1717 and 1723. The Four Orchestral Suites BWV 1066–1069 are a set of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, probably composed around 1720 in Köthen. ... Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) is the numbering system used to identify musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen (28 November 1694 O.S. – 19 November 1728 N.S.) was Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen. ...

The title comes from violinist August Wilhelmj's late 19th century arrangement of the piece for violin and piano. By transposing the key of the piece from its original D major to C major, Wilhelmj was able to play the piece on only one string of his violin, the G string. August Wilhelmj (21 September 1845, Usingen – 22 January 1908, London) was a German violinist who in the nineteenth century made an arrangement for the violin from the second movement of J. S. Bachs Orchestral Suite No. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... In music theory, the key identifies the tonic triad, the chord, major or minor, which represents the final point of rest for a piece, or the focal point of a section. ... Also see: D minor, or D-flat major. ... C major (often just C or key of C) is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has no flats/sharps (see below: Diatonic Scales and Keys). ... The strings of a harp A string is the vibrating element which is the source of vibration in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. ...

Popular culture

The popular name Air on the G String has today more or less taken the meaning of any arrangement of Bach's Air. These include:

• This piece is said to be the main inspiration of Procol Harum's most famous song, "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
• Anime music composer Shiro Sagisu (known for composing the original background music for Neon Genesis Evangelion) arranged a version of Air for the movie The End of Evangelion, the first half of which is titled "Air / Love is Destructive".
• Anime In the GAINAX series His and Her Circumstances, during a class scene on school, the beginning of this song can be barely heard on the background.
• Anime It is featured in an episode of Tekkaman Blade, a scene where Blade reminisces about his old teacher Goddard and while Saber listens to it training. Blade says that he and Saber loved the song.
• A brief excerpt of Bach's version appears in the Beatles animated movie "Yellow Submarine" where the submarine lost in the Sea of Monsters lights an exploding cigar it gave to a boxing monster. It is also popular in Italy, in its version performed by The Swingle Singers, as the opening song of historical Rai Uno science TV show Quark since 1981.
• Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen frequently performs versions of Air on his albums and live shows. His interpretations include "Air on a Theme" , "Air on a G String" (on his live album) and on his album Attack!!. "Air".
• Julian Lloyd Webber performs this piece on the cello.
• In the Space Flight simulator: Orbiter, this is the default music on the cockpit MP3
• The melody was also well known in the UK as the theme music for the long-running series of Hamlet cigar TV commercials.
• It is also in the Japanese movie Battle Royale and is used after the character Mitsuko Souma is killed by Kazuo Kiriyama.
• The song is featured in the soundtrack of the video game Gran Turismo 4.
• The piece appears in the movie Se7en as Detective Somerset is searching through the library for books containing information on the seven deadly sins.
• The James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me features it in a scene in which the villain watches someone get eaten by sharks.
• A jazz version of the piece, by the Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion, is featured on the soundtrack for the Michael Mann movie Collateral.
• A remix of this piece was recorded by DJ Zigo and used in TV Series Nip/Tuck in the first episode of the second season during a Rhytidectomy operation.
• John Cale quotes the piece in "Chinese Takeaway (Hong Kong 1997)" on 1985's Artificial Intelligence.
• The song Everything's Gonna Be Alright by Sweetbox sampled based on Bach's Air (on a G String) from Suite No. 3.

Procol Harum is an English rock band, formed in the 1960s, who built a heavy foundation for what would become progressive rock. ... A Whiter Shade of Pale is a song by the British band Procol Harum. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... Shiro Sagisu ) (born August 29, 1957) is a well-known Japanese music producer, composer, arranger and conductor. ... Original run October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996 No. ... The End of Evangelion ) is a 1997 anime film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno; it won the Japan Academy Prize for popularity. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Serialized in LaLa Magazine Daisuki Magnolia Original run December 1995 – April 2005 No. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... For the song, see Yellow Submarine (song). ... The Swingle Singers is a vocal group formed in 1962 Paris, France with Ward Swingle, Anne Germain, Jeanette Baucomont, and Jean Cussac. ... Rai Uno is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. ... Yngwie Johann Malmsteen (IPA pronunciation: //) (born Lars Johann Yngve Lannerbäck on June 30, 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish guitarist, composer and bandleader. ... Julian Lloyd Webber (born April 14, 1951) is a British cellist. ... Orbiter is a closed source freeware space flight simulator for the Windows operating system. ... For other uses, see MP3 (disambiguation). ... Hamlet are a well known brand of cigar produced by Benson and Hedges. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Kou Shibasaki as Mitsuko Souma, in the film Battle Royale Mitsuko Souma ) is an antagonist in the novel Battle Royale and the manga and film adaptations. ... Masanobu Ando as Kazuo Kiriyama in the film Battle Royale. ... For the main series, see Gran Turismo (series) Gran Turismo 4 (also known as GT4) is a racing video game for Sony Playstation 2 which is published by Polyphony Digital. ... For the singer, see Se7en (singer). ... For other uses, see Cardinal sin (disambiguation). ... For the James Bond film, see The Spy Who Loved Me (film). ... Collateral is a 2004 Academy Award-nominated Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures American drama/thriller/crime film directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie, with un-credited rewrites by Mann and Frank Darabont. ... Nip/Tuck is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American television medical drama series created by Ryan Murphy for FX Networks. ... A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (literally, surgical removal of wrinkles), is a procedure used in plastic surgery to give a more youthful appearance. ... Not to be confused with J.J. Cale. ... AI redirects here. ... Sweetbox, is a pop band that was formed in 1995 by producers Heiko Schmidt and GEO and since 2000, has been fronted by vocalist, Jade Villalon. ... Image File history File links Air_(Bach). ...

External links

• Orchestral suites was available at the International Music Score Library Project. (at the bottom)
• Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia Project, Orchestral arrangement
  • Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia Project, Trombone Quartet arrangement
• Air on the G String performance by the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
• Air on the G String was available at the International Music Score Library Project.