Symphonic Suite and Incidental Music
The suite was revived in about the middle
of the 19th century. However, instead of the traditional scheme of
dances as written during the Baroque
era, it presented a free succession of contrasting
movements, usually national dances or ballet
movements. It was sometimes a series of extracts from a ballet,
or incidental music to a play, such as Mendelssohn's
"A Midsummer Night's Dream." This work is perhaps the best example
of the genre. Incidental music often suggested a series of scenes,
sometimes from a story. It was usually for orchestra but also appeared
in the literature for piano.