English suites

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The English Suites is the popular name of a collection of six virtuoso suites for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach ( BWV  806–811). The origin of the title is unclear; it is probably not from Bach.

Emergence

Current research dates the suite collection to around 1715, i.e. in Bach's time in Weimar . In the past, echoes of the type and theme of suites by Charles Dieupart and finally also by George Frideric Handel , possibly created in London around 1701 (but printed in Amsterdam), led to an explanation of the name and, accordingly, later dating, which are now considered refuted. The source was possibly the copy of Johann Christian Bach on which the words fait pour les Anglois ("made for the English") can be found.

Only copies of the six suites have survived. They all begin with a prelude called a virtuoso prelude and are followed by the four movements that are typical of a suite for a keyboard instrument: Allemande , Courante , Sarabande and Gigue . In front of the final movement, another dance movement is inserted that includes a trio in the variant key (in Suite IV in the parallel key ). The key notes of the suites result - possibly coincidentally - at the beginning of the chorale melody of Jesus, my joy .

Later on, other comparable suite collections were created, also for harpsichord: the so-called French suites (which, despite their similar name, have no content-related relationship to the English suites) and the six partitas .

The individual works

Suite I in A major BWV 806

sentences

  • Prelude 12/8
  • Allemande c
  • Courante I 3/2
  • Courante II 3/2 avec 2 doubles
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Bourrée I - II (A minor) - I
  • Gigue 6/8

Suite II in A minor BWV 807

sentences

  • Prelude 3/4
  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Bourrée I - II (A major) - I
  • Gigue 6/8

Suite III in G minor BWV 808

sentences

  • Prelude 3/8
  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Gavotte I - II (" ou la Musette " in G major) - I
  • Gigue 12/8

Suite IV in F major BWV 809

sentences

  • Prélude c (" vitement ")
  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Minuet I - II (D minor) - I.
  • Gigue 12/8

Suite V in E minor BWV 810

sentences

  • Prelude 6/8
  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Passepied I en Rondeau - Passepied II (E major) - Da capo Passepied I
  • Gigue 3/8

Suite VI in D minor BWV 811

sentences

  • Prélude 9/8 (later: Allegro )
  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/2 - Double
  • Gavotte I - II (D major) - I
  • Gigue 12/16

Web links

Commons : English Suites  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christoph Wolff : Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd edition, Frankfurt 2007.
  2. ^ Wolfgang Schmieder : Thematic-Systematic Directory of the Works of Johann Sebastian Bach . Wiesbaden 1969.
  3. ^ Hermann Keller: The piano works of Bach . 3. Edition. Peters, Leipzig 1950, p. 180.