English Suites (BWV 806–811)
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The English Suites (BWV 806–811) refer to a set of six suites written by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach for harpsichord and generally thought to be the earliest of Bach's 18 suites for keyboard, the others being the 6 French Suites (BWV 812–817) and the 6 Partitas (BWV 825–830).
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[edit] History
These six suites for keyboard are thought to be the earliest set that Bach composed. Originally, their date of composition was thought to have been between 1718 and 1720, but more recent research suggests that the composition was likely earlier, around 1715, while the composer was living in Weimar. Bach was obliged to write a new cantata every week during his time at the Weimar court, and the English Suites he composed at this time express Bach's longing for new, instrumental music and held therefore a very special place in Bach's life and work. Later in Köthen and Leipzig he worked on a full-time basis with professional orchestras, providing him an ideal context in which to create orchestral and purely instrumental compositions.
Like the French Suites, the use of the term English to describe the Suites was a later addition. The name is thought to date back to a claim made by the nineteenth-century Bach biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel that they were composed for an English nobleman, although no evidence has emerged to substantiate this claim. There are several striking characteristics about the English Suites. Bach includes a highly virtuosic prelude for each, in a departure from the prevailing tradition dictating a strict progression of the dance movements (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue). By comparison, the later French Suites and Partitas are less strict in form. The Sarabande and Gigue movements in each of the English Suites is never separated by more than a single (twinned) Menuet or Menuet-like movement. Finally, the English Suites are predominantly in the minor key.
[edit] The six English Suites
- 1st suite in A major, BWV 806
- 2nd suite in a minor, BWV 807
- Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Bourrée I, Bourrée II, Gigue
- 3rd suite in g minor, BWV 808
- Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gavotte I, Gavotte II, Gigue
- 4th suite in F major, BWV 809
- Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Menuet I, Menuet II, Gigue
- 5th suite in e minor, BWV 810
- Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Passepied I, Passepied II, Gigue
- 6th suite in d minor, BWV 811
- Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gavotte I, Gavotte II, Gigue
Note that the key sequence follows the same series of notes as the chorale 'Jesu, meine freude'; this is unlikely to be accidental.
[edit] See also
- Works for keyboard by J.S. Bach
- French Suites (BWV 812–817)
- Partitas for keyboard (825–830)
- Bach compositions printed during the composer's lifetime
- List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach
- List of recordings of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach
[edit] External links
- [1]. Detailed review of various recordings of the English Suites.
