French suites

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The French Suites ( BWV 812 to 817) are a cycle of six compositions for the harpsichord or clavichord by Johann Sebastian Bach . They belong to the genre of the suite , a series of stylized instrumental dance pieces that are connected to one another to form a musical unit through the same key and melodically related themes and motifs. Bach composed it between 1722 and 1724 as Kapellmeister in Köthen for his second wife Anna Magdalena Bach , whom he married in 1722. He entered the first five early versions of them in the little piano book for Anna Magdalena Bachin in 1722 and referred to them in the French customary at the time as Suites pour le Clavessin (= suites for the harpsichord).

title

The current title probably comes from Bach's student Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber , who compiled and copied these and other suites between 1724 and 1726 from a larger collection of Bach's harpsichord works. With the title he differentiated this cycle from what he called the “English Suites” of Bach. These originated earlier, had a preceding prelude , less strictly uniformly composed sentences and longer sentence sequences. The “French” suite cycle created in Köthen set a new standard for the suite's instrumental genre with the elegance, compactness and stylization of these works and the high demands placed on playing technique. He thus joined the piano works of Bach with an educational purpose.

construction

Manuscript of the Gavotte from Suite No. 5, here in the early version

The cycle begins with three suites in minor keys , followed by three in major . They all begin with the typical sequence of movements Allemande - Courante - Sarabande , followed by a gavotte in the major suites . Here Bach inserts further dances - including mostly a minuet ; the works then end with a jig .

Bach dispensed with the introductory overture that is generally used in French suites and began directly with a dance movement. Compared to the English suites with their extensive, virtuoso preludes and mature partitas , they are shorter and easier to play.

The individual works

Suite I in D minor BWV 812

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/2
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Minuet I - II - I 3/4
  • Jig c

Suite II in C minor BWV 813

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/4
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Air ¢
  • Minuet I - II - I 3/4
  • Gigue 3/8

Suite III in B minor BWV 814

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 6/4
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Anglaise 2
  • Minuet - Trio - Minuet 3/4
  • Gigue 3/8

Suite IV in E flat major BWV 815

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/4
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Gavotte 2
  • Air c
  • Gigue 6/8

One of the copies adds a prelude of arpeggiated chords and / or a minuet .

Suite V in G major BWV 816

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/4
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Gavotte ¢
  • Bourrée ¢
  • Loure 6/4
  • Gigue 12/16

Suite VI in E major BWV 817

sentences

  • Allemande c
  • Courante 3/4
  • Sarabande 3/4
  • Gavotte ¢
  • Polonaise 3/4
  • Bourrée 2
  • Minuet 3/4
  • Gigue 6/8

In the sixth suite, it is the largest, with eight movements. Because of multiple tradition, the order of the sentences is uncertain. In a copy of Bach's student Heinrich Nicolaus Gerber , it appears combined with the E major prelude from the first part of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 854/1) as SVITE 6 ta avec Prelude within a manuscript bundle whose original order is no longer is reconstructable; apparently it represents the 6th English suite here .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rudolf Steglich (Ed.): Joh. Seb. Bach: French Suites. Based on his own writing and transcripts from Bach's family and students. G. Henle, Munich / Duisburg 1972, p. 3 (preface to the Urtext edition)
  2. ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach. 3rd edition, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 , pp. 253 and 355