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A Performer's Guide To The English Suites
A Performer's Guide To The English Suites
A Performer's Guide To The English Suites
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Boston University
School for the Arts
Dissertation
by
PETER WATCHORN
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^ C o p y rig h t by
Peter Watchorn
1995
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Approved by
First Reader
John'Daverio, Ph. D.
Associate Professor of Music
Second Reader
Mark Kroll, M. Mus.
Associate Professor of Music
Third Reader
Max Miller, Ph. D.
Professor of Music
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks are due to the many who have generously cooperated in the
prelim inary research for this work. For assistance in the tedious w ork
associated w ith the m any and various m anuscript sources for the English
Suites, thanks are due to the staff of the various music libraries of Boston
University and H arvard University. In addition, I w ould like to record my
appreciation of the efforts of the following individuals who have given
generously of their time in answering many questions which arose during
the w riting of this study: Isolde Ahlgrimm, A nthony Jennings, Gregory
Miller, H ow ard Schott, David Schulenberg, Robert Marshall and Christoph
Wolff. Thanks are especially due to my advisor, John Daverio, who, w ith
patience and wisdom, steered this work through its various stages, and whose
experience and expertise have greatly enhanced the quality of the finished
product. I also wish to acknowledge the respective contributions of the other
members of my committee, Mark Kroll and Max Miller, for their assistance in
reading the manuscript.
Finally, I w ould like to record my ongoing gratitude to my father,
Donald Thomas Watchorn, whose love of Bach and whose playing of some of
the English Suites thirty years ago provided me w ith my first experience of
them, and whose wise and authoritative m usicianship has been a constant
inspiration in the many years since those early experiences.
Peter Watchorn
Cambridge, Mass.
iv
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Peter Watchorn
Boston University, School for the Arts, 1995
ABSTRACT
The six English Suites (BWV 806-11) of Johann Sebastian Bach are
among his best known pieces for harpsichord, and have been acknowledged
as great w orks since the time of Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's first
biographer. However, they have not received the attention by musicologists
which their intrinsic quality and great reputation among
earlier Bach
scholars warrants. The present study attem pts to redress this situation by
presenting both a summary of what has been already been written about the
English Suites and new research into the many questions surrounding their
origins and early history. A complicating factor, so far as musicologists are
concerned, is the lack of surviving autograph material. M oreover, the
questions regarding the title, unlikely to have been used by Bach himself, and
a date of composition, are complicated by conflicting and slight surviving
evidence.
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The present study deals first with the question of the many surviving
early manuscript copies of the English Suites. In Chapter 2, the question of the
origin of the title is thoroughly investigated, and a case is made for linking
the composition of the English Suites with Bach's interest in the music of
French and Italian composers in the 1710's. Chapter 3 presents a complete
descriptive analysis of the English Suites, with special emphasis given to
their performance on the harpsichord. In subsequent chapters, the history of
publication and performance of the English Suites is traced, and a comparison
of the English Suites with Bach's remaining suite collections is presented.
Finally, a discussion of the latest research into surviving G erm an
harpsichords, especially those in which a link with Bach can be established, is
included as an Appendix.
vi
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TABLE OF CO N TE N TS
page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
Introduction
22
39
c. The Editions
49
54
68
132
141
Chapter 6. Conclusion
148
154
Bibliography
164
Vita
170
vii
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Introduction:
provided a truly reliable edition which, although it took into account the
different readings contained in the m any surviving m anuscript sources,
nevertheless avoided mixing them together indiscriminately, as happened in
the second of the two editions produced by the old Bach-Gesellschaft. The
accompanying Kritische Bericht presented clearly the m any variants of text,
ornamentation, articulation and other indications contained in the m ultitude
of copies, and attem pted to arrange them in a pecking order of importance
and reliability.
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Indeed it is the sheer num ber of surviving copies that points to the
great popularity of the suites avec preludes, as Bach probably called them, among
musicians in Bach's circle in Germany from the first quarter of the eighteenth
century. That the English Suites were used by Bach and others as part of a
course of instruction in keyboard playing as well as composition is evident
from the copies m ade by various Bach students, one of whom , H einrich
Nicolaus Gerber, indicated on his manuscript that his copy was m ade during
his years of study at Leipzig University (between 1724 and 1727).
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conclude that Bach had corrected this copy, writing in seven bars of his own
towards the end of the prelude to the third suite.1
For the sake of convenience, the N B A divided the more than thirty
surviving m anuscript copies of the English Suites into groups based on
various criteria w hich they outlined in their Critical Report. Some
manuscripts are clearly copies of other surviving scores, as is the case with the
Schneider and Gerber copies: the second was clearly copied from the first. The
work of the NBA, in sifting the evidence provided by the manuscript sources
and the many textual variants which they present, has been so exhaustive
that it is clearly unnecessary to offer more than a summary of their findings,
and to include references to the N B A Critical Report as necessary.
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aim has also been to make accessible, through footnotes and other references,
virtually everything of importance which has been written about the English
Suites, at the same time presenting my own conclusions which are based on
an extended period of research both as a scholar and performing musician.
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often fails to conceal his opinion of them as in some ways rather unpolished
forerunners of the later suites, especially the Partitas.3 Schulenberg describes
the English Suites as lying somewhere between the French Suites and the six
Partitas in term s of their standard of difficulty, length and complexity (an
assertion with which the present author is not in agreement) and speculates
that Bach may have considered them to be too old-fashioned to serve as
candidates for his first keyboard publication, w hich he first announced in
1726, and which by 1731 produced the set of six Partitas.4
In the set of six Suites which have always been known as the 'English'
suites, we reach the culminating point of Bach's work for the harpsichord...6
3 The courante of the sixth suite seem s to particularly d isplease him. See p. 251.
4 Schulenberg, 1992, p. 277.
5 Sir Hubert Parry, Johann Sebastian Bach (London, 1909) pp. 461-4.
6 J. A. Fuller M aitland, Bach's Keyboard Suites (London, 1928).
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Many a listener (and performer) might be forgiven for agreeing w ith Parry
rather than Schulenberg, at least in assessing the musical qualities of the
English Suites, and one w onders to w hat extent the latter a u th o r's
conclusions are based on the presumed early date of composition, rather than
on the inherent quality of the music itself.
The other recent books, while containing various references to the
English Suites, discuss them as examples in a w ider survey of stylistic
elements contained in Bach's output. For example, in M eredith Little and
Nathalie Jenne's Dance and the Music o f J. S. Bach, the dance types represented
among all of Bach's works in suite form, rath er than the actual suite
collections, are the subjects of focus. Though the work of Little and Jenne
ostensibly deals w ith practical music-making by stressing the importance of
applying a knowledge of the physical dance steps to musical performance, it is
still far from clear just how closely the actual physical dance in the end
determines the tempi for the keyboard suites of Bach's period. (The authors,
in acknowledgement of this caveat, omit any discussion of the allemande on
the grounds that by Bach's time it was a mere stylized shadow of its former
self.) Alfred Durr, however, goes even further than this:
nobody would seriously have thought of dancing, say, to the Double from the
Sarabande in the Third English Suite.7
7 Alfred Durr, "The Historical Background of the Com position of Johann Sebastian Bach's
C lavier Suite", BACH XVI, 1985 pp. 53-68
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The question of just how far the stylization of the English Suites (and
Bach's other works in the same genre, for that m atter) removes them in
performance from their models is not one that can be easily answered. From
the many recordings of the English Suites that have been made over the last
seventy years, it is equally clear that few performers agree on this issue. It
seems obvious, however, that the dance, through its direct relationship to the
series of organized physical movements that gave rise to it, gives us a clearer
guide to m atters of tempo and affect than is afforded by the more abstract
forms: toccatas, preludes and fugues, in which the evidence provided by
discernibly physically based m odels is lacking. The present w riter has
addressed the issue, basically following Little and Jenne, by relating discussion
of the dance movements to quotations from contemporary w riters on the
subject, including M attheson, W alther and Brossard. Thereby hangs the
subsidiary issue of how literally (or accurately) the Germans applied what
they knew of foreign dance types from France and Italy to their own
compositions. In Bach's case, his early interreaction w ith one of the most
famous French dancing masters of his day, Thomas de la Selle, would have
guaranteed him a knowledge of fashionable French court dances.8 Of course,
basic dance tempos are often subject in performance to the influence of other
factors such as affect, time-signature, type of instrument, performance space
and acoustics. That choreographed dance is similarly subject to ephemeral
performance considerations and variations of tempo and affect is made clear
by Little and Jenne.9
8 Karl Geiringer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Oxford University Press, p. 13. For a full discussion
of the influence of French dance on the you n g Bach, see Little and ]enne (1992), Chapter 1
"French Court Dance in Bach's World."
9 Little and Jenne 1991, p. 19.
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Among the older standard works that discuss the English Suites, those
o( Hermann Keller10 and Erwin Bodky11 are perhaps the best known. Neither
treats the w orks in anything like the detail w hich their position of
importance in Bach's output merits. Bodky, like Badura-Skoda, deals with the
English Suites, and the other works cited only in the context of his chosen
criteria (furthermore, many of his suggestions for performance are clearly
outmoded), and Keller devotes a scant eight pages to them, mixing fact w ith
legend on several occasions.
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10
So what, exactly, are the English Suites? The collection consists of six
large suites in a mixture of French and Italian styles, each suite preceded by a
long and highly developed Prelude. The first of these is w ritten in distinctly
Germanic four-part counterpoint and the remaining five all borrow from
Italianate concerto-derived forms, complete with da capos repetitions of the
opening sections. Though no dynamic m arkings are included am ong the
preludes (indicating alternating m anuals of a two manual harpsichord) the
12 Die sechs Englische Suiten, Neue Bach-AusgabeV/ 7 Kritische Bericht. (Barenreiter, Kassel
1981).
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11
structure clearly mim icks the division betw een the ritornello and solo
sections of a typical baroque concerto.
The sequence of dance m ovem ents is invariably: A llem ande C ourante13 (always in the French rather than the faster Italian Corrente style) Sarabande (with or without an ornamented double or set of agrements) - some
sort of "modern" galant dance in altemativement - Gigue. As will be shown,
there is evidence that this plan was derived from Bach's study of the suites of
French composers, most particularly those of the French composer, resident
in the early eighteenth century in London, Charles (Francis) Dieupart, whose
1701 publication of Six Suittes pour le Clavessin may well have provided Bach
w ith the models for his own set (a comparison of the movement plans of the
two sets of six suites bears this out). In the opinion of the present writer,
Dieupart's importance in the development of the keyboard suite, especially in
relationship to the com position of the English Suites, has been hitherto
greatly underestimated. A full discussion of the relationship of Dieupart to
Bach's English Suites is contained in the C hapter 2 which deals with the
enigmatic title that has attached itself to these works. Though definitive proof
that the Dieupart suites were the model for Bach's set of suites is still lacking,
the circumstantial evidence is convincing.
The English Suites are in some ways the most consistently intricate,
complex, and challenging of all Bach's keyboard suite collections, different in
detail and emphasis from the Partitas, but in no way inferior to them or less
13 The set of courantes w ith ornamented variants found in BWV 806 is the only deviation
from the basic seven m ovem ent plan found throughout the English Suites.
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12
example, are cast in exactly the same mould, though they all bear the title.
(The opening movement of the sixth Partita was originally titled Prelude as
well, though the title was later changed to Toccata for the publication in 1731,
an in d icatio n of how unspecific and a d ap tab le eighteenth century
terminology could, on occasion, be). Despite the various m ovem ent titles
applied to the opening pieces of the Partitas, they are, in fact, no more or less
than preludes, similar in function to those found in the English Suites.
The Prelude to the first English Suite, the only one that is not based on
an Italianate concerto form , is a piece of careful im itative four-part
counterpoint, the them atic m aterial inspired by one or m ore of three
surviving compositions by other composers, while the second is like an
extended two-part invention, with interpolated contrasting episodes utilizing
fashionable Italianate parallel thirds. The Prelude to the third suite is the
most obviously like a Vivaldian concerto, although the elaborate imitative
counterpoint of the contrasting episodes is clearly Bach's own idea, while the
fourth is another essentially tw o-part invention, again containing, like the
second, episodes contrasting in both style and texture. The Prelude to the fifth
suite features three distinct voices, each entering individually in the style of a
fugal concerto movement and the sixth, perhaps the greatest Prelude to any of
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13
Bach's keyboard suites, is really a prelude and fugue in one movement, with a
slow introduction followed by an immense fugal structure in which the
subject and its inversion are fully and elaborately worked out.
Of the remaining dance m ovem ents, the allem andes are notable in
that they are among the earliest examples of the dance that contain elaborate
im itative counterpoint. Schulenberg considers some of them as direct
descendants of the allemandes in the suites of Froberger14. I would suggest
that the immediate m odel is, again, Dieupart, whose allem andes contain
features which bear m ore than a passing resem blance to ideas found
throughout the Bach set. The courantes, all in the French rather than the
Italian style, often contain the cadential hemiolas common to the style, while
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14
the galanterien, sandw iched betw een the sarabandes and the final gigues,
include such up-to-date dances as bourr^es, passepieds and minuets, either in
alternativement or en rondeau .
Overall, it can be said that the English Suites achieve a high degree of
integral unity, through the close motivic relationship of one m ovem ent to
the next, a feature that again recalls the Dieupart "Six Suittes", for, as David
Fuller notes15 this was a feature of the D ieupart set which was, in 1701, when
they were first published, without precedent among French keyboard suites.
Forkel, Bach's first biographer, clearly held the works in high esteem
when he wrote of the English Suites:
All of them are of great m erit as works of art, and some movements,
particularly the gigues of the fifth and sixth suites are perfect masterpieces of
harmony and melody16.
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15
Of the three sets of keyboard suites by Bach, the other two being the
French Suites [BWV 812-17] and the Partitas [BWV 825-30], the English Suites
are now generally agreed to have been the first set composed.18 Substantial
17 John Butt: Bach Interpretation. Articulation Marks in Primary Sources o f ]. S. Bach
(Cambridge, 1990).
1^This opinion is w idespread. A m ong the more recent scholars w ho subscribe to it are
Schulenberg, Durr, Schulze and Eppstein.
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16
evidence supports this opinion. First, they are not included in the two
presen tation m an u scrip ts w hich Bach com piled for his wife, A nna
Magdalena, in 1722 and 1725, while five of the French Suites and two of the
Partitas appear among the contents of both volumes. One may easily agree
with Alfred Diirr on the reasons why the English Suites do not: either they
had not been composed yet, or, far more likely, they had been around for
some time and Bach did not include them because he wished to present his
wife with something more recently composed19. Also, if the English Suites
were written as a commission for an English nobleman, Bach w ould hardly
have been likely to copy them into his wife's new presentation manuscript.
Significantly, though the French Suites and Partitas w ent through a num ber
of revisions throughout Bach's lifetime, as is revealed by their appearance in
different versions in various anthologies compiled by Bach for use in his
household, there is scant evidence that any such treatment was accorded the
English Suites (the earlier version of BWV 806 copied by W alther being the
sole exception). This perhaps further supports Forkel's explanation that the
compilation of the English Suites as a set was the result of a commission. If
this is true, then the fair copy was presumably also the presentation copy. If, as
Forkel states, the recipient was a visiting English nobleman, then Bach would
have had no opportunity of revising the autograph, nor would the need to do
so have existed. This may also explain why an autograph or dedication score
is no longer to be found.
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17
1) Bach copied out all six suites of Dieupart in about 1713. This was not
known by earlier writers, the m anuscript having temporarily disappeared.
The disappearance and rediscovery of this manuscript is fully described in the
notes to Chapter 2. Suffice it to say here that the reappearance of the copy,
now in Frankfurt, considerably alters the weight of evidence linking Dieupart
with Bach.
2) Bach's cousin, Johann Gottfried Walther, at almost exactly the same time
copied both Dieupart's A-major suite and the A-major English Suite into the
same collection of manuscripts. These copies are reliably dated around 17121420.
3) The A major English Suite contains, at the beginning of its prelude, a direct
and obvious quotation from the Gigue to Dieupart's suite in the same key.
20 Hermann Zietz, Quellenkritische Untersuchungen an den Bach-Handschriften P 801, P 802
und P 803 aus dem Krebsschen Nachlass" unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der
Choralbearbeitungenen des jungen ]. S. Bach. (Hamburg, 1969).
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18
4) The basic movement plan of the English Suites is the same as that found in
Dieupart's set.
5) Dieupart's suites were unique among French works up to that time in the
inclusion of w ritten-out preludes, and a fixed and invariable sequence of
m ovem ents21. Both of these features occur, among Bach's output of keyboard
suites, only in the English Suites.
Other facts which may or may not be relevant are:
1) J . C. Bach's copy of the English Suites contains a description linking these
works to "the English", a relationship which is not clear. However, due to its
absence from the earliest surviving manuscript copies, it seems that the nam e
was not formally applied by Bach to the set, but may have been used as a sort
of nickname among members of the Bach circle
2) Forkel, Bach's first biographer stated clearly (without giving his source) that
the English Suites were w ritten for an English nobleman.
Edward Dannreuther, who was the first to link the Bach suites w ith
those of Dieupart in a lecture to the Royal Institution in London22 suggested
that the Dieupart suites were known in Bach's household as the "English"
Suites, due to D ieupart's having been famous in England as a teacher, and
that the title of Bach's set was an acknowledgement of his debt to the French
composer, resident in London at the turn of the eighteenth century and for
the next forty years.
21 Fixed m ovem ent order w as, how ever, a feature of certain German com posers before Bach,
for exam ple, Froberger and Fischer.
22 Quoted by J. A Fuller M aitland, Bach's Keyboard Suites ( London, 1928). Paul Brunold, in
his introduction to the L'oiseau-Lyre edition o f the Dieupart Suites, gives the date of
Dannreuther's lecture as April 30, 1892
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20
24 Edward Dannreuther, M usical Ornamentation (N ovello, London, 1893) Vol i. pp. 137-8.
25 Staats und Ciniversitatsbibliothek, Frankfurt am Main ms. 1538. See Bach-Dokumente III
(ed. H. J. Schulze, Kassel) pp. 634-5.
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21
m anuscripts which can be reliably dated from one source or another. This
conclusion is described fully in Chapter 2, which specifically concerns the
background to the title of the English Suites The research for this chapter
yielded an increasingly clear and logically compelling picture of the young
Bach of 1713 or so, full of admiration for the French Clavecinists, and, quite
suddenly, equally curious about the works of Italian musicians. This was a
young composer whose imagination was fired by one of the most im portant
musical ideas of his day, most eloquently outlined by Francois Couperin: a
fusion of styles in the service of a higher form of music, les Gouts Reunis.
Though proof in the form of absolute primary source material, regarding the
mysteries surrounding the English Suites is still lacking, perhaps we now
may begin to formulate the real solution to the nearly three-hundred-year-old
puzzle regarding these fascinating works: w hen they were written, and why
they were called the English Suites.
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22
This is a problem which was unknow n to the editors of the BachGesellschaft edition, for one of the m anuscript sources, that listed by the
1 Reprinted in The Bach Reader, ed. David and M endel (Norton: N ew York, 1966) pp. 214-224.
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23
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24
copy of an earlier version of one of the English Suites. The first suite in A
major, BWV 806 (in this version know n as BWV 806a), is included among
the works contained in a set of three m anuscripts w hich also contain
num erous other works for keyboard, both organ and harpsichord, by Bach
and other composers. These m anuscripts together constitute an im portant
source for num erous early compositions for organ and harpsichord of Bach3
and were compiled over a long period by three prom inent members of the
Bach circle. The first, Bach's distant cousin and associate in W eimar from
1708-1717, Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) is conjectured to have begun
the manuscript around 1710, perhaps as preparatory work for his Musikalisches
Lexicon, published over two decades later4. Compositions by other composers,
especially French clavecinists, were also copied, including some pieces by two
composers whose works have since the nineteenth century been linked with
the English Suites, and may have provided Bach w ith certain them atic
material used in the prelude to the first English Suite: Charles (Francis)
Dieupart5, and Gaspard Le Roux. The adm iration W alther felt for the French
harpsichord writers is demonstrated by the inclusion of works by d'Anglebert,
d'Andrieu, C16rambault, Lebfegue and Louis M archand. As well as Walther,
the other scribes for this vast manuscript collection were Johann Tobias Krebs
(1690-1762), whose copies of BWV 807 and 811 also appear in P. 803, and his
3 Included in this m anuscript collection in W alther's handw riting are also the Piece d'orgue
BWV 572, Toccata in fU BWV 910, Sonatas after Reinken BWV 965-6 and num erous other
organ works, chiefly chorale preludes.
4See Stephen Daw: "Copies of J. S. Bach by Walther and Krebs: A Study of the M anuscripts
P801, P802, P803," Organ Yearbook VII, (1976), pp.33-58
5 Dieupart's Ouverture and Suite in A, from the Six Suittes de Clavessin are included among
Walther's copies of harpsichord m usic. The gigu e from the A major suite, which
Dannreuther and others considered to be the m odel for the Prelude from BWV 806 is,
how ever, according to David Schulenberg, not included in Walther's manuscript. See
Schulenberg (1992) p 415, fn 15. A study of the manuscript reveals this to be not the case: the
gigu e is included, though its title is not.
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25
son Johann Ludwig (1713-80). W alther's early version of BWV 806 has been
cautiously dated by scholars, on the basis of the handwriting style, sometime
aroundl7126. It bears the title:
Prelude avec les suites, com posed par Giov: Bast: Bach.
Given the many interesting variants contained in W alther's copy of the first
English Suite, the N B A reprints it as an appendix to their edition.7 The
present work discusses it in the section dealing with BWV 806.
This manuscript, dating from the first half of the 18th century, is the
work of a copyist know n to Bach scholarship as Anonymous 5, probably
Bach's student and later associate in Leipzig, Johann Schneider (1702-1788)8,
who was the organist at the Nikolaikirche from 1729. The evident care with
which the copying was done as well as the fact that the m anuscript contains
all six suites makes it by general consent the single most important source for
the English Suites. It is clear that certain parts of the m anuscript were
produced w ith Bach's ow n know ledge and perh ap s even u n d e r his
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26
supervision9. For many years regarded as an autograph, and used by the BachGesellshaft as the basis for its edition10, it contains seven bars of autograph
9 Alfred Diirr: 'T he Historical Background of the com position o f Bach's Clavier Suite(s)",
Part 1. BACH XVI, (January, 1985), p. 54.
10 The text contained in BG 13, full of inaccuracies, w as later replaced by BG 45. Both
editions are fully described in Chapter 4, Performance History.
11 Diirr 1985, p. 54.
12 The page containing Bach's seven bar insertion enables a comparison of the two
handw riting styles. The NBA reproduce it at the beginning of their edition of the English
Suites (Barenreiter, BA 5165).
13 Diirr 1985, pp. 53-68.
14 Paul Kast, Die Bach-Handschriften der Berliner Staatsbibliothek. Tiibinger Bach-Studien, 2 -3,
(Trossingen: Hohner-Verlag, 1958).
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27
154 (1724), Diirr concluded that the same w riter was responsible for the entire
manuscript, though a num ber of years separated its two sections.15
Schneider's m anuscript also contains many details of articulation and
some fingerings, perhaps derived from Bach him self16. In any case, he
appears to have been approved by Bach as a careful and reliable copyist, since
he copied not only the English and French Suites, but many other of Bach's
works as well.
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28
Bach's suites into two books, one (the one containing four of the six English
Suites) originally containing seven suites, presumably the six English Suites,
and the sixth French suite with the addition of the E major prelude from the
first p a rt of the W ell-Tem pered Klavier)21. The o th er contained the
remaining eight (five of the French suites, plus the suites in a (BWV 818) and
Eb (BWV 819), w ith one more (originally num bered by Gerber as 7), now
missing from the m anuscript.
interest for a number of reasons, not least on account of the numerical order
of the suites, which does not correspond to the sequence of any other known
collection.22 Gerber's m anuscript copies of Bach's suites are also notable for
their arrangem ent of the included works into three volumes: listed in the
catalogue in Vienna are the six Partitas (BWV 825-830), suites w ith preludes
(presum ably the volum e originally containing seven suites) and the
rem aining eight w ithout, a grouping w hich is perhaps indicative of the
importance which Bach himself attached to that distinction. Surviving in the
manuscript containing the suites w ith preludes we find the following works,
listed below with Gerber's original numbering indicated in each case:
Remarks
806 in A
II
808 in g
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Ill
IV
810 in e
811 in d
6 (sic)
854/1, 817
VII
810 in F (?)
812 in d
II
818 in a
III
819 in Eb
IV
814 in b
813 in c
VI
815 in Eb
VII
VIII
816
23 Diirr 1978, p. 15 cautiously suggests that a symmetrical tonal plan (A, g, a, e, d, E) may
indicate that BWV 807 w as originally suite 3 in Gerber's manuscript of Suites auec preludes.
H ow ever, the presum ed position of the F major suite as number 7 places it outside this neat
tonal ordering.
24 Bischoff, in his edition of the keyboard works, (Steingraber) suggested the suite for lute
or Lautenwerk (BWV 996) as the m issing work.
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30
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beginning of the first and third suites. This copy transmits the complete set,
excepting the fourth suite in F, BWV 809.
28 Kast (1958). Durr in his Chronology of Bach's Leipzig vocal works (Kassel, 1976)
describes him as Hauptkopist H.
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32
Containing only BWV 808, this copy dates from the second half of the
18th century. Originally (with C 3 and D 5) it formed part of the collection of
Ernst Rudorff.29
This manuscript, dating from the m iddle of the 18th century, contains
BWV 808/1, as well as the three suites listed under source D 5.
D 1. BB Am. B 489.
This later copy dates from after 1750 and contains all six of the English
Suites. The title, which refers to the "Englischen Suiten" is not original, and
29 NBA KB V /7 p. 30.
30 Kast (1958) lists him as anon. 436.
31 N BA KB V /7 p. 32.
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33
was added at a later date by Karl Otto Friedrich von Vofi (1786-1864)32. The
copyist is identified33 as Anon 300, who also copied num erous m anuscripts
for C. P. E. Bach during his time in Berlin.
This copy from after 1750 contains movements from BWV 806 and 807.
Dating from the second half of 18th century, this m anuscript also
contains the six French Suites (BWV 812-17) and the second part of the
Clavieriibung (Italian Concerto, BWV 971; O verture in the French M anner,
BWV 831). Regarding the English Suites, the title refers to:
This late 18th century manuscript, also containing the source listed above as C
3, contains a further three of the English Suites: BWV 806, 807 and 811. The
scribe for BWV 806 and BWV 811 is the same.
32 NBA KB V /7 p. 32.
33 Kast (1958).
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34
Again dating from some time after 1750, this m anuscript contains only the
sixth suite, BWV 811 in the handwriting of the same scribe who copied D 6.
This copy is from the collection of the Bach pupil J. C. Kittel (1732-1809). Kittel
copied BWV 806 and p a rt of BWV 807, and p rovided annotations
(articulation and phrase markings) to the rest, which were copied by Michel,
singer and copyist for C. P. E. Bach in Hamburg. The title used in the catalogue
of the manuscript collection at Kittel's death reads:
34 Kast (1958).
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35
SIX SVrTES AVEC LEVRS PRELUDES POUR LE CLAVECIN c o m p o s e s par MR. JEAN SEB.
BACH.
Later, this copy came into the hands of Griepenkerl and Roitzsch, and was,
along with other no longer extant copies (Yl-3),35 the basis for the edition by
Czerny, which first appeared in 1841. A note appended by Griepenkerl
described the manuscript as having come from the estate of W. F. Bach36.
This copy of all six English Suites was identified by Ludwig Landshoff and
Alfred Kreutz38 as being in the hand of Christian Friedrich Carl Fasch (1736-
35
36
37
38
NBA KB V /7 p. 49.
NBA KB V /7 p. 38.
Riemenschneider Bach Facsimiles, Vol 1, book 111, (Ohio, 1985) pp. 2-3.
See Kreutz's edition of the English Suites, (Leipzig, Peters 4580a/b, 1950).
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36
1800). On the basis of a comparison of the handw riting w ith Fasch's other
known manuscripts, the copy was dated between 1756 and 1790.
F 2. BB Am. B. 50.
This copy dates from the second half of the 18th century and comes from the
collection of Princess Anna Amalia (sister to Frederick the Great). It bears the
following title:
Sechs Suiten fur das Clavier von Johann Sebastian Bach, d ie Englischen
Suiten gennant.
This early 19th century copy in the hand of the organist Fritz Knuth, as is the
source listed as B 5, bears the following title:
The six suites, num bered 1-6 appear in the following order: BWV 807, 806,
809, 810, 808, 811.
From around 1800, this copy contains only the prelude to BWV 808.
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37
G.
This group of m anuscripts is im portant chiefly for its association with
Bach's first biographer, Johann Nikolaus Forkel. The name of Beethoven's
patron Prince Karl Alois Lichnowsky (1761-1814) is also associated with these
copies, as he ordered m ost of them to be m ade in Gottingen in 1782.
Consideration of these manuscripts and their history takes us into the era of
the Bach revival, where the names of Forkel, van Swieten, and Lichnowsky
all figure prominently. These manuscripts are briefly summarized below:
This m anuscript found its way into the collection of Baron Gottfried van
Swieten(1733-1803). Its title reads:
This m anuscript was copied by a w riter who also worked for Mozart and
Haydn. The suites, numbered 1-6 appear in the following order:
BWV 807, 808 (without the sarabande, 4a), 806, 809-11. The title reads: >VI
Grandes Suites pour le Clavecin par Jean Seb. B ach.<
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38
This manuscript contains various single movements from the last two suites,
some in the hand of J. N. Forkel. This manuscript refers to the works as the
"English" Suites.
All the other sources (G 6 - M) listed by the NBA are 18th-or early 19th
century copies of various movements from the English Suites.
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39
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40
Suites though as long as many of those found in the Partitas, are w ritten in a
som ewhat more conservative and perhaps uncom prom ising style, more
related to the original dance type than some of the more elaborate examples
found in the Partitas. The other dance m ovem ents are all equally m ature
examples of their respective types, astonishingly so, given the likely date of
com position: the courantes full of rhythm ic com plexity and melody
(Schulenberg's rem arks45 concerning the courante of the sixth suite
notwithstanding), the sarabandes ranging from the deceptively simple (BWV
810) to the highly complex (BWV 808), and the gigues all composed in one of
two distinct Italian styles46, within which they exhibit considerable diversity
and freedom. The final two gigues of the collection (rem arked upon by
Forkel47 as "perfect examples of original melody and harmony") stand out
from the remaining gigues in the set through their use of highly chromatic
and daring subject material, which is developed, in each case, fugally.
Though certain authors have concluded that the English Suites m ust
have been the first of Bach's suite cycles to have been composed, largely on
the basis of stylistic considerations, there is considerable external evidence
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42
If the first English Suite is to be regarded apart from its more exuberant
and Italianate colleagues, then the early date of W alther's manuscript copy of
the earlier version may indicate that, indeed, the other five suites were added
to it later, rather than the other way around. Given Bach's (and W alther's)
interest in copying the music of various French composers around 1713, then
it is logical to see the A major suite as a conscious exercise by Bach at
composing in the purely French clavecin style: that this may have been his
in te n tio n could be reflected in the exclusively French m ovem ent
designations transm itted by W alther, as well as the use of m ultiple (and
perhaps alternative) courantes, a device common in the suites of the French
clavecinists as far back as Louis Couperin and Chambonrtiferes.
BW V
A
807
g
808
a
806
e
810
d
811
E
8 5 5 /i, 817
This leaves the F major suite (BWV 809) unaccounted for, and outside the tonal plan.
51 G igue to the Premiere suitte, from Six Suittes pour le Clavessin, published by Estienne
Roger, A m sterdam (undated). The allem ande of the sam e suite also contains thematic
affinities to BWV 8 0 6 / i.
52 Gaspard le Roux: Suite in A, from Pieces de Clavecin, Paris 1705.
53 This w ork w as included in V olum e 42 (pp 250-54) of the Bach-Gesellschaft edition under
the title Toccata quasi fantasia con fuga . BWV Anh. 178. The manuscript, edited for the BG
by Ernst N aum ann cam e from the collection o f W ilhelm Rust. It was originally part of the
m anuscript collection of Fritz Knuth, w h o also copied the English Suites in the early
nineteenth century (source B 5, F 3). It is no longer extant. (See Rose, 1968).
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43
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44
rem aining five suites. The difference in style betw een BWV 806 and its
companions may be accounted for by Bach's sudden discovery of Vivaldi's
music, which begins to be reflected in the cantatas composed around 1713, in
such works as BWV 21, Ich hatte viel bekummernis, and the slightly later secular
cantata, BWV 208, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd.
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45
m anuscript collection which will twenty years later provide m uch of the basic
m aterial for his M usikalisches Lexicon (published 1732) at the same tim e
copies out the first Dieupart suite, and in the same collection, the suite by his
cousin which the Dieupart model inspires. This is done so that the model and
the w ork it helps to create can be com pared as exam ples of French and
German art. Then, around 1717, as a result of a commission from a visiting
English nobleman, Bach assembles the rem aining suites, the starting point
being a set of five single m ovem ents he has w ritten as a tonally ordered
collection (a, g, F, e, d), all of w hich reflect his new found interest in the
Italian concertos of Vivaldi, Marcello and Albinoni. Basing the plan of his
suites on the Dieupart model, which his English patron admires, he adds the
requisite number of dances, based on the fashionable French and, also, Italian
dance movements which have, in the last decade or so, become increasingly
popular. In place of the Ouvertures, which are a novel feature of the Dieupart
suites, he uses his Italianate movements, now called preludes, to introduce
the dances, which basically follow the order of D ieupart's suites. However, in
his newly composed suites, he attempts to marry the French and Italian styles,
som etim es w ithin one m ovem ent, in the sam e m anner as the French
composer Francois Couperin, whose work he greatly admires. To make up a
set of six suites required to fill his commission, he attaches to the beginning of
his set of suites the already completed (and copied) BWV 806a, however,
revising his early version somewhat: tidying up various features of his earlier
exercise in French suite composition, adding a few bars to the prelude in
order to improve its harmonic rhythm, and streamlining the dances. Finally,
he adds a varied version of one of the courantes to show his skill in writing
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46
agr^ments in the French style, adding similar variants for the sarabandes of
some of the other suites, basically following the model of Francois Couperin's
Premiere Livre of Pieces de Clavecin. The autograph m anuscript is then
presented to his noble patron. Bach, then at work on other projects, lays the
English Suites aside, finding no particular reason to revise or rew ork them
any further.
58}ohann Sebastian Bach: Englische Suiten, ed. R udolf Steglich (Munich: G. H enle Verlag,
1958. Preface revised, 1971), pp. 3-4.
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47
A fairly common range, judging from surviving Germ an instrum ents from
the 1710's, was GG - c'", with or without the low GG#. The following still
extant instruments reflect this compass:
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48
60 John Henry van der Meer, "Die Geschichte der Zupfklaviere bis 1800. Ein Oberblick",
Kielklaviere (Catalogue o f the keyboard instrum ents in the Berlin M useum (Staatliches
Institut fur M usikforschung PreuBischer Kulturbesitz, 1991) pp. 22-3.
61 By the HaraB, Silbermann and H ass workshops.
62 van der Meer 1991,p. 22.
63 See Alfred Durr: "Tastenumfang und Chronologie in Bachs Klavierwerken", Ini
M ittelpnnkt Bach, (Kassel: Barenreiter, 1988).
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49
c. The Editions:
The earliest published movements from one of the English Suites were
the pair of Gavottes from the G m inor suite (BWV 808) which appeared in
Berlin in 1760 under the title Musette 66. The English Suites first began to
appear in complete form in an edition published by Hoffmeister and Kuhnel,
(later C. F. Peters) Leipzig, who corresponded directly w ith Bach's champion
and first biographer, Johann Nikolaus Forkel. The works appeared under the
following title:
J.
SEB. BACH.
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50
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51
Naum ann, and which took into account all of the im portant sources, but
drew on them indiscriminately: A; Bl, 2, 3; D 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8; F 2; G 3, 5.
In 1957 Henle Verlag produced its version of the English Suites, edited
by Rudolf Steglich. Though designated as an Urtext, it provided only a very'
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52
cursory identification of its sources, and included editorial fingerings by HansMartin Leopold. The annotations by Steglich refer to many of the manuscript
copies, but fail to indicate clearly which ones were used.70 Steglich's sketchy
and subjective annotations concerned them selves m ainly w ith editorial
suggestions for performance, metronome markings and other issues, largely
geared to performance on the m odem piano.
The Urtext of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, edited by Alfred Diirr, appeared
in 1979, followed by the Kritische Bericht in 1981 (on which m uch of the
material in the present chapter is based). In addition to including W alther's
early version of BWV 806 as an appendix, the edition was based mainly on
the copies by Schneider and Gerber (B 1 and B 2) w ith the addition of
manuscripts from the groups C, D and E for the sake of comparison. In a few
exceptional cases, sources F and G were used for further enlightenment. The
edition also incorporated the fingerings contained in Schneider's manuscript
(B 1), and certain variants throughout the text as ossia (alternate) readings.
Diirr noted in his preface that, although the sources were in general
agreement on many points so that a more or less reliable musical text could
be arrived at, the question of restoring Bach's intentions w ith regards to
ornamentation was made extremely complicated by the numerous differences
between the various copies. Finally, the edition of the Associated Board of the
Royal Schools of Music, edited by the English musicologist, Richard Jones,
appeared in 1987. In his introduction, the editor acknowledged his substantial
debt to the work of Alfred Diirr and the NBA. In footnotes throughout the
70 There are references, however, to Krebs, Kittel and Oley (i.e Anon 5, SPK mus. ms P.
1072).
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53
text, Jones indicated the particular m anuscript sources from which each
reading was derived, the primary source m aterial being the m anuscript of
Anonymus 5 (B 1 in the present study). Jones was perhaps the first editor to
gear his textual com m entary equally to harpsichord perform ance, the
suggested fingerings contained in the edition reflective of Baroque, rather
than pianistic phrasing and articulation. In the present study, the various
textual differences between the surviving m anuscripts will be explored in
Chapter 4, in the context of the individual suites.
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54
Of all the m ysteries surrounding the English Suites, one of the most
persistent concerns the name which has been associated w ith them since at
least the second half of the eighteenth century. Why are these works,
composed by one of Germany's leading composers in a m ixture of largely
French and Italian styles w edded to a national label w ith which Bach is not
known to have been associated? Also, w hen and by whom was the now
familiar term first used? By way of absolute proof, we are not much closer to
answering these questions than were those authors who wrote on the subject
of Bach's music in the nineteenth and early tw entieth centuries. The actual
hard evidence, pointing to use of the title "English Suites" during Bach's
own time, comes down to only two real sources.
Suite 1 avec Prelude pour le clavecin. A#, compos^e. par. Jean Sebastian
Bach. Fait pour les Anglois. pp Jean Chretian Bach.
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55
though it mentions what are clearly the six English Suites, does not refer to
them by that name, but merely as six suites, distinguished from six preceding
shorter suites (clearly the French Suites)2
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56
course, this is not to say that the English Suites were necessarily composed to
order: much evidence points to an earlier composition date for the English
Suites than for any of Bach's other sets of keyboard suites, probably well before
1720, perhaps even earlier in the case of BWV 806 (W alther's copy dates from
around 1712). If the English Suites were dedicated to an English nobleman, as
Forkel suggests, then Bach probably compiled the set from works which he
already had to hand, as he did in case of the Brandenberg Concertos. Perhaps
this even explains the lack of an autograph score, as well as the lack of a
generic title.
The surviving manuscript copies of the English Suites dating from the
first half of the 18th century provide no clue that Bach himself ever used the
term "English Suites" to describe his six large suites with preludes. The two
earliest reliable copies, those by (most likely) Johann Schneider5 and Heinrich
Nicolaus Gerber describe them merely as suites avec preludes, as do other of the
manuscript sources from the first half of the eighteenth century6. The early
version of the A major suite, copied by Walther as early as 1712 refers to a
prelude avec les suites . However, the title "English Suites" has been firmly
associated with these works since the second half of the 18th century7, and
was used by Forkel in his 1802 biography of Bach as though the name was
already universally known: indeed, the catalogue of music from Forkel's
5 The identification of the author of manuscript source B 1 is not certain, however, Alfred
Diirr (see the Chapter T. Manuscript Sources) establishes a good case for the copyist being
Schneider, Bach's student in L eipzig, later organist of the Nikolaikirche. See also Marianne
Helms, "Zur Chronologie der Handschrift des A nonym us 5", NBA KB V /7 p. 195.
6 See the Chapter 1: Manuscript Sources for a list of the titles.
7 A number of the manuscript sources dating after 1750 contain the title, the earliest being
probably source C 1.
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57
estate refers to the works as the "Englische Suiten".8 Leaving aside the
possibility of a commission from an English nobleman, which, Forkel's claim
notw ithstanding is unproven, another explanation for the title is perhaps
more likely.
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58
Suites, stated in a public lecture11 that the D ieupart suites were known in the
Bach household as the "English" suites, perhaps (though D annreuther did
not specifically say) due to their having been originally dedicated to the
Countess of Sandwich12.
The esteem in which Bach and his cousin Johann Gottfried VValther
held French harpsichord music in general and D ieupart's suites in particular
is fu rth er u n d erlin ed by the inform ation th at W alther and K rebs's
m anuscript collection (P 801, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlin) contains
works by various French composers such as D'Andrieu, D'A nglebert and
Clrembault and the first suite in A major of Dieupart, copied by W alther
him self13. Of the six suites by Dieupart, this one has been the subject of much
scholarly speculation since the late nineteenth century, beginning with the
w ritings of D annreuther, w ho was convinced th at a clear them atic
relationship existed between its gigue and the prelude of the first English
suite14.
11 According to Paul Brunold, in his introduction to the 1934 edition of the Dieupart Suites
(Paris: L'oiseau-Lyre), the date of this w as April 30, 1892 at the Royal Institution in
London.
12 J. A. Fuller M aitland, The Keyboard Suites of J. S. Bach, (London, 1928), p. 30.
13 David Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J. S. Bach, (N ew York, 1992) fn 15, p. 415, citing
D avid Fuller asserts that Walther's manuscript d oes not contain the gigu e to the A major
suite, the very m ovem ent on w hich the prelude to BWV 806 is supposed to be based.
H ow ever, the gigue is contained in P 801 (Zietz, 1969, p. 51), though it lacks the title and is
identified only by its tim e signature of 6 /8 . This is confirmed by Fuller and Gustafson, p. 121.
14 Dannreuther (and Fuller M aitland, for that matter) w as apparently unaw are o f the fact
that Bach copied all six suites, and refers (p. 137) only to the Berlin copy (BB mus. ms. 8551)
of the sixth suite in f m inor as having been written out by Bach. Dannreuther also referred
to "strong evidence that Bach knew and valued the other suites" w ithout actually
specifying w hat it w as. A description and history o f the Frankfurt ms. 1538 appears in BachDokumente (ed. Schulze) III, pp634-5. Spitta (I, p202) referred to Bach's copy of Dieupart as
having been in the possession of A loys Fuchs in Vienna, but it had clearly dropped out of
sight by the time Spitta wrote his pioneering w ork on Bach. He w as also uncertain o f the
com plete contents of ms 1538, referring only to the Berlin copy of the F m inor suite.
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59
Leaving aside for the m oment the question of any possible them atic
borrowing from D ieupart by Bach, there are other aspects of the French
composer's suites which appear to indicate an affinity between them and the
English Suites. First is the presence in the Dieupart set of fully w ritten out
introductory preludes (or, rather overtures in the French style), something
which was unprecedented among French keyboard suites u p to that time (the
French unm easured prelude, derived from the style brise of lute compositions
by composers such as Denis Gaultier, represents a totally different style of
semi-composed, sem i-im provised prelude). In addition, the stylistic unity
created by the close thematic and motivic resemblances among movements of
the same suite15 represented a significant and new direction for the keyboard
suite. It is yet another feature of D ieupart's works in this form which may
well have been noted and developed further by J. S. Bach when he came to
write his own set.
(O verture,
15 For exam ple, the allem ande, courante and g ig u e of the first suite bear a very close
m otivic relationship to each other.
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60
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61
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62
dominant which occurs in the first binary section of Dieupart's piece provides
Bach with the basic material from which his measures 3 - 9 are compiled. The
essentially two-part writing w ith its imitative dialogue is expanded by Bach
into a piece of complex four part imitative counterpoint. Though one need
not go as far as Dannreuther, who, in order to explain the transformation of
D ieupart's thematic material, asserted that Bach "com piled" the them e for
BWV 806/i by combining D ieupart's first and third bars, Bach's piece clearly
paraphrases the first thirteen bars of D ieupart's gigue before going its own
w ay.17
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63
801 (Berlin Museum). Le Roux's gigue is from his Pieces de Clavecin, published
in Paris in 1705. David Fuller20 asserts that its claim to having been the
thematic model for BWV 806/ i is stronger than that of the gigue by Dieupart,
echoing an observation first made by the French writer Andr6 Pirro in 190721.
Though one may argue that the initial pitches of Le Roux's piece more closely
approxim ate those of Bach, his gigue does not contain the sam e harm onic
plan beyond the m iddle of measure 3. But, as we have seen, the first binary
section of Dieupart's work is utilized virtually complete.
20 D avid Fuller, "Dieupart", The Nero Grove Dictionary o f Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley
Sadie (London, 1980), vol 5, pp. 472-3.
21 Andr6 Pirro, L'Esthetique de Jean-Sebastien Bach, (Paris 1907), pp. 430-1.
22 Including, contrary to Schulenberg's assertion to the contrary, the gigue, though it is not
listed by title.
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64
connection between this piece and the prelude to BWV 806.23 It is true that
the section beginning at measure 60 (in the old Purcell society edition, edited
by William Barclay-Squire) contains essentially the same them e as Bach's
prelude. What is more, the imitative contrapuntal texture, in four voices, at
times comes very close to certain passages in BWV 806/i.24
The manuscript sources for this toccata in the British Museum25, both
from the early eighteenth century, attribute the w ork to Purcell. The
m anuscript from w hich the Bach-Gesellschaft edition was derived was
contained in the collection of the nineteenth-century organist, Fritz Knuth,
who also copied the English Suites and other works of Bach (see Chapter 1,
Manuscript sources, F. 3). It is not any longer clear (since the m anuscript is no
longer extant) whether the score from Knuth's collection which contained the
A major toccata was written out by Knuth or by someone else. However, the
fact that the m anuscript also contained works by Bach26 points to a German
origin. Stylistically, the toccata is strongly suggestive of the early eighteenth
century and the complexity of the counterpoint indicates the work of a North
German composer.
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65
the attempts to attribute the work to the young J. S. Bach have been been long
rejected by m ost writers, on stylistic grounds,28 The question was raised,
however, by Gloria Rose in her 1968 essay concerning this work, and it has to
be admitted that the examples which she quotes, relating the work to, above
all, Bach's mamialiter toccatas, are convincing. And, in light of the more recent
acceptance of many other previously doubtful works as genuine examples of
the young Bach's output29, her case seems m ore acceptable than it would
have to those writers who rejected out of hand any possible connection
between Bach and the anonymous A major toccata many years ago. Perhaps
even more plausible, however, is the alternative explanation put forward by
Rose: that Bach knew and adm ired the piece, perhaps a work of an older
m ember of the Bach family, Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703). Despite
Gloria Rose's examples, which quite convincingly establish a link between the
A major toccata and the themes and figurations contained in Bach's own
manualiter toccatas, she appears to have overlooked any affinity' between the
28 Rose 1968.
29 For exam ple, such early works as the suite in A major (BWV 832) w hose m ovem ents
includes an Air pour les Trompettes and other pieces which do not easily accord w ith our
traditional view of Bach, the mature composer.
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66
were known in the Bach household as the "English" suites has a basis in
fact31, then it may well be that the title as it was transferred to Bach's own
collection was in acknowledgement of D ieupart's set having provided the
inspiration. This link may have been reinforced by a direct (but not too
obvious) quotation from the first of Dieupart's suites, as well as by casting the
new set in essentially the same format as the models.
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the name had perhaps simply stuck among members of Bach's family and
immediate circle, though it was not actually intended as an official title. In
fact, the very wording (in quaint French) of the title page to BWV 806 in the
younger Bach's m anuscript copy sounds m ore like a description of the
contents rather than a formal title. Perhaps (since it occurs only on the title
page of the first suite) it only refers to that work, rather than to the set of six.
Of course, there is no good reason why the English Suites m ight not have
been commissioned by an English admirer of Bach's, who knew Dieupart's set
of suites with overtures and requested a similar set from Bach, which the
composer duly compiled from both pre-existing and newly composed works.
However, mere speculation will not provide a definitive answ er to that
question.
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68
With the exception of the preludes, all the movements of the English
Suites are literally based on Baroque dance types, in each case, French, though
certain Italianate elem ents have often been com bined w ith them. The
obvious interest in dance lies, for the musician, primarily in its relevance to
issues of musical performance: tempo, articulation, phrasing and gesture.
Fortunately, an excellent work, by Meredith Little and Nathalie Jenne, Dance
and the Music o f /. S. Bach, relates all of Bach's dances, keyboard and otherwise,
to the dance types which gave rise to them,1and sets straight many of the
misconceptions which have plagued performers of Bach's dance suites. The
following pages make frequent reference to this work.
Tempo. Articulation and Style:
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Faster tempi did not always indicate a higher level of skill or expertise:
it takes more experience, for example, to perform the step-units by means of
physical articulation (plie, or bending the knees) slowly, than at a faster tempo.
Especially in the case of French court dances, a range of tempos is not only
possible, but m andatory in the expression of a dancer's proper individual
affect: therefore, tem pos vary from perform er to perform er exactly as in
musical perform ance.4 Thus, tem po, cannot be exactly determ ined, but
should be thought of as one element of a wide range of performance areas
which lead to the expression of the perform er's own ideas of the general
affective qualities of the dance. Most of the treatises on dance refer more to
the "character" or "affect" of a dance type than to a specific tempo. Though
3 Little and Jenne 1991, p. 21.
4 Little and Jenne 1991, p. 19.
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this does, of course, include a discussion of tempo, many other elements are
assumed as well in the pursuit of a particular affective quality. This "affective
quality" is referred to by w riters such as Friedrich William M arpurg5 and
Johann Philipp Kirnberger6 as the foundation of m usical expression.
Articulation and rhythm are dependent on the phrase lengths described by a
particular dance type, m ost of which consist of phrases of a quite distinct
m anner and duration. The nature of characteristic Baroque dance phrases
was not described precisely until after 1750, when M arpurg and Kirnberger,
both students of J. S. Bach, explained the fundam entals of dance rhythms.
Little and Jenne cite the French writer Michel L'Affilard7 as an authority who
relates vocal arias to dance types, and indicated vocal phrasing which
corresponds exactly with the dance phrases.
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debt, the Allemande was almost more in the nature of a prelude than a dance,
sometimes given a descriptive title of its own. Froberger's Tombeaus (for
example, to the suites XX in D major and XXX in A m inor) serve a dual
function: both as prelude and allemande. Among the suites of Dieupart,
whose link to Bach has been firmly established, the introductory Overtures
are followed in each case by an allem ande. Bach, perhaps im itating the
example of Dieupart, followed each of the preludes in his English Suites with
an allemande. Later, in the Ouverture nach Franzdsischer Art (BWV 831), as well
as in the four Ouvertiiren for orchestra (BWV 1066 - 9), the allem ande is
omitted, the overture having served both its and the allem ande's function as
a sort of entree to the dance movements proper. The imitative counterpoint
found in the allemandes to Dieupart's Suittes de Clavessin of 1701 may well be
one feature which attracted Bach to them as models for his own set of suites.
This device, though largely lacking in the allemande to BWV 806, is present
in varying degrees in all the rest, and, indeed, in many of Bach's subsequent
compositions w ritten in that form. (The later "galant" French Suites, BWV
812 - 17 are, by and large, exceptions).
Courante:
The courantes in Bach's English Suites are all composed in the French
rather than the Italian style (called corrente), though in some instances Bach
combines elements of both types (BWV 806, Double I; BWV 807; BWV 811).
The Courante was the most popular of all dances in the seventeenth century
French keyboard suite and the most opulent in style. The French courante is
characterised by its slow tempo, and also by a meter of 3/2, w ith hemiolas
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present (alternating 3 /2 and 6/4) in the final measures of each binary section.
T hough the ru n n in g eighth-note figuration pro v id es m ovem ent, the
underlying 3 /2 m eter makes the C ourante the slowest of all the French
dances in triple time. The application of notes inegales is perhaps required for
most of these pieces (the exceptions are discussed below) and the upbeat
figures and cadences require clear articulation. Descriptions of it from the
eighteenth century range from "serious and solemn"8 to "noble and grand"9
and "majestic"10 and "earnest"11.
Sarabande:
From its origins in Spain and the New World, the sarabande passed
through seventeenth century Italy, and became one of the classic French court
dances of the early eighteenth century. The choreographies for the sarabande
describe a dance which is "calm, serious* and sometimes tender, but ordered,
balanced and sustained". Other descriptions of it from Bach's time refer to it
as "grave, ceremonious"12, "melancholy", but all attest to its basic seriousness.
Written in a slow three beats to the bar (usually 3/4, but occasionally 3/2), the
phrases are usually four or eight bars long, both halves balancing one another
usually exactly (a convention which is not observed in any of the sarabandes
contained in the English Suites). Four of the sarabandes in the English Suites
present considerably elaborated versions of the basic sarabande rhythm .
Among the six, the sarabandes to BWV 807, 808 and 811 all are coupled with
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73
written-out variants. In the case of BWV 807, these take the form of agrements
for the treble line (only the treble line is printed in several copies). In BWV
808 the elaboration is extended to both outer parts. The sarabande to BWV 811
is followed by a through-composed double: a similar technique is employed in
the first suite, where two doubles are attached to the second courante.
BourrSe:
characteristic of the dance, other than its inherent liveliness, is its regular
(usually eight-bar) phrase lengths and the short up-beats which preface each
binary section.
Gavotte:
Bach included gavottes in the third and sixth suites, in each case in
pairs to be perform ed in alternativement. The gavotte, a French court dance
dating from as far back as the sixteenth century14, was said to be capable of
expressing a wide range of emotions or affects ranging from tender, graceful to
13 Little and Jenne 1991, p. 36.
14 Little and Jenne 1991, p. 46.
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brisk and lively. The m etrical structure of the gavotte and bourree are
identical, that is duple time with an upbeat, in the case of the gavotte, often
involving a half-bar rather than a single note unaccented upbeat. Perhaps due
to their similarity of phrasing and meter (often only the tempo distinguishes
one from another, the gavotte being a more moderately paced dance) Bach
often uses them as alternatives to each other (among the English Suites,
BWV 808 and 811 contain pairs of gavottes, BWV 806 and 807 bounces in
alternativement). However, in the fifth and sixth French Suites (BWV 816-7)
the Overture nach Franzdsische Art (BWV 831), and the third orchestral Overture
(BWV 1068), both forms appear together. In the case of BWV 1068, the
bourree sounds rather like a swifter variant of the gavotte. The craze for the
gavotte in France in the 1720's and 1730's, especially those which utilize
"pastoral" effects, as do some of those of Bach in the English Suites, suggests
that these may have been some of the latest dances to be added to the English
Suites. In fact, Bach's inclusion of gavottes in alternativement is one of the few
features which point to the 1720's rather than the 1710's as the likely
composition dates, if not for the English Suites as a whole, then at least for
the "modish" movements such as the gavottes.
15 Sebastian de Brossard, Dictioitaire de Musique, (Paris, 1703), Little and Jenne 1991, p. 63.
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75
the gay and very fast nature of the m inuet, and of its origins in Poitou.
Rousseau, however, writing around the middle of the century corrected him,
referring instead to the "noble and elegant sim plicity" and m oderate
m ovem ent of the m inuet16. Perhaps this merely shows that, like all dance
types, it was capable of different interpretation in different times and places,
and according to the passions of the particular executant. The passepied,
examples of which may be found in treatises dating as far back as Praetorius'
Terpsichore (1612) and M ersenne's Harmonic Universelle (1636), is one of those
The gigues in the English Suites are classified by Little and Jenne into
two types identified as Giga I and Giga II. Giga I denotes the well-known gigue
in compound time, 9/8, 12/8 or 12/16 (BWV 807, 808, 809, 811) where the
smallest note values appearing in the piece are the same as the basic threeway subdivision of the dotted note (that is, eighth notes in a 12/8 signature as
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76
in BWV 807, 808 and 811) and Giga II, where the units are further subdivided
into sm aller note values (for example, w here sixteenth notes are the
prevailing note values in a 6 /8 signature, as in BWV 806). Both of these
forms are separate from the genuine French gigue in sim ple time (French
Suite 1 in d, BWV 812 provides an example of this style). However, examples
of Giga II occur only rarely in the works of German composers (Froberger,
Pachelbel, Buxtehude and Bach provide some of the only examples). Instead,
the Giga II was predominantly a French attempt to apply Italian fluidity to the
native French gigue. Jollity, long, irregular phrases, imitative texture, and
relatively few internal cadences are features common to all three forms of the
gigue. Of the three distinct types, it is the Giga II which is furthest from any
choreographic origins, and by Bach's tim e it was an instrum ental dance
without any relationship to a physical model. It is perhaps the instrum ental
nature of the gigue, independent of any choreographed dance steps, which
endeared it to Bach as a vehicle for some of his boldest contrapuntal exercises,
the gigues to BWV 810 and 811 being singled out by Johann Nikolaus Forkel
in his 1802 biography of Bach as "perfect m asterpieces of harm ony and
melody".
The first English Suite stands far apart from the rem aining five in
terms of both its style and conception. The m anuscript sources indicate that
this work may have have been the first of the six to have been composed, and
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77
The origins of the suites avec preludes, outlined in chapters 1 and 2, take
us most likely to the years 1713 and 1714, which were in many ways crucial to
Bach's com positional developm ent. It was Bach's experience w ith the
concerto compositions of Italian com posers which, according to Forkel,
caused him to refine and focus his compositional style, creating a structure
which had not been previously present18. However, Bach's interest in the
music of French harpsichord composers, especially the six suites of Charles
Dieupart, is clearly the dom inant influence present in the first English Suite,
and the work is largely w ithout the Italianate elements which permeate m any
of the movements of BWV 807-11. BWV 806 is also the only one of the six
works to deviate from the basic unvarying m ovem ent p lan w hich is
common to all six suites, by the insertion of an extra Courante. In fact, the
provision of the
W alther's version) clearly follows the French m odel, w here varied and
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78
m ultiple courantes were often included, for example, among the works of
Francois Couperin.19
Prelude:
This piece has been the subject of more attention than any other single
m ovem ent contained in the English Suites, for it contains material which is
probably derived from a pre-existing work: the gigue to the A m ajor Suite
from the 1701 collection of six suites by Charles Dieupart. Of all the preludes
belonging to the English Suites, this one is the shortest and contrapuntally
th e m ost concentrated, the only piece of purely abstract Germ anic
counterpoint to be found among all the movements in the English Suites.
The prelude, in 12/8 time, opens with a two measure flourish consisting of
answering groups of three sixteenth notes rising through three octaves, A a". The 6/8 two voice gigue of Dieupart is transformed into a piece of three
and four-part counterpoint, the simple tonic-tonic exchanges between voices
of the model expanded in scope and complexity into a piece of elaborate
imitative polyphony far beyond the dimensions of the original gigue. The
third voice grows out of the sustained tenor e" in m. 4. The first half of the
original gigue is transferred to Bach's piece virtually intact, as a comparative
analysis of their harm onic rhythm clearly shows. It was chiefly in the
cadential approaches that Bach broadened the harm onic flow somewhat,
expanding D ieupart's original design. Thus, a French gigue becomes a
German three-part invention, with an added fourth voice at certain crucial
points in the piece.
19 For exam ple, Couperin's Premier Ordre, which appeared in 1713 contains a pair of
courantes, the first of which is written out in tw o versions, the alteration m ade only to the
upper parts.
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79
Example 3.1:
BWV 806/i mm. 1 - 9:
S
'- I
pi^i
yt-
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80
By comparing the early version of BWV 806 (BWV 806a) with the later one,
Bach's revisions (the insertion of extra measures at m. 10 and m. 17), though
relatively slight, can be seen to alter the harm onic flow of the piece by
delaying the modulation back to the tonic (m.10) and extending the excursion
into the relative minor (f#) by a bar (m. 17). The second instance also involves
different voice leading, with the original statement in f# minor taken up an
octave, and then im itated in the m anner of the opening measures, at the
lower octave.
Example 3.2: BWV 806a/i, mm. 9-20
t-nunfn
rn
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81
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82
toccata-like opening passage and the gentler rhythmic units which follow. In
fact, the prelude to BWV 806 resembles m ost closely the pastorale-like A
major prelude from WTC 2, also in 12/8 time, to which it is similar in both
affect and texture. That the key is also A major suggests that this tonality
implied a certain type of m ovement to Bach: broadly flowing, gentle and
pastorale-like in quality.
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83
r-v K
J. f a L -
w*
Jf
r i*
^ '3 i '
g-ZL-i1?1'
'
__
ii
*1
A
J.
,h
JS
70 )
'
However, the connection of either of these pieces to Bach is, on the basis of
any provable connection between them and the surviving Bach m anuscript
sources, tenuous.
A llem ande:
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84
continuation of that of the prelude and the gentle, sustained quality of the
piece suggests a light registration, perhaps a single 8' register.
Courante I:
A comparison of the second courante, with its two w ritten out variants
or doubles, and the earlier version copied by W alther clearly shows the
revisions which Bach made to this piece, presumably at the time of the final
compilation of the set of six suites. Walther, in his earlier version, BWV 806a,
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85
gives the varied version of the courante first (which Bach later styled double
2), and then includes what later became the initial version of courante 2 with
the title: Courante precedent avec la Basse Simple. In his revised version, Bach
included a further double, embellished in the Italian rather than the French
style: the result being a transform ation of the original line by the use of
smaller note-values, rather the simple addition of ornaments to the line. This
no doubt reflects his interest in contem porary Italian music, beginning
around 1713, and represents a further example of the ideal of les Gouts Reunis,
in which the English Suites abound. In the final version of BWV 806,
therefore, there is a total of four courantes. W hether the perform er was
expected to perform all of them or merely to make a selection is not clear, but
m ultiple courantes occur in m any of the suites of French composers,
including, as already noted, Francois Couperin, with whom Bach may or may
not have been in correspondence.22 The term double, often, in the works of
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86
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87
Sarabande:
m ovement w ith Italianate ornam entation. The revised version, BWV 806,
elaborates further on w hat is already (in BWV 806a) a heavily ornam ented
version of the sarabande: Measures 20 and 24 are the prime examples of this
treatment, transforming simple sixteenth-note passages into impressive and
brilliant flourishes in the bass rather than the treble part. Unlike the prelude,
the later version of the Sarabande contains no inserted bars or other changes
to the essential structure, Bach contenting himself w ith elaborating the
ornamentation and the written-out figurations. The flourish in the bass at m.
24 also exists in the following variant contained in several of the copies24:
Example 3.5: BWV 806/vii, m. 24
a) W alther
b)Anon 5
c)Agricola/Kirnberger (ossia)
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88
The rhythmic "motto" of the first two measures provides the inspiration for
m uch of the m ovem ent, and is utilized consistently throughout. The
standard second beat syncopation is delayed until the second measure.
Though no separate agrements (as are present in the case of BWV 807-8) are
supplied, the repeats are presumably intended to be varied at the discretion of
the performer: in this case, Italian-style ornamentation, involving division of
the existing groupings into smaller note values, seems to be in order. The
brilliance of the ornamentation suggests a full registration: perhaps 8', 8', 4' on
a three-choir instrument.
Bourrees I and II:
In the early version BWV 806a, only the first of the current pair of
Bourrees is included. A comparison of the text of the early version with the
later revisions indicates that Bach considerably altered and am ended the
articulation signs, in the process refining the ornam entation as well. In
particular, the paired- note slurs of the early version, which are used virtually
throughout, are replaced by the later combination of slurred pairs followed by
a four-note phrase-mark.
Example 3.6: BWV 806/viii, mm. 1-4
W alther:
Schneider:
gTTj
1
,:
19 3 5 * 5 ^ = 1 =
----------------
I------- ------------------- 1
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89
Bourree II, in the tonic minor key, transfers the running eighths to the
bass part in its first half, similar in its effect to the technique used in the
Forlana of the first orchestral Ouverture, BWV 1066. The dark effect of the
m inor tonality is emphasised by the low tessitura of the soprano, which
never rises above d". The lack of articulation marks throughout, in contrast
to Bourree I, along with the conjunct m otion of the running eighth-notes
(the 'sigh' motif of the Bourree I is absent here) implies a smooth and even
execution for those passages, probably using notes egales. The two-part textures
of the bounces invite the use of two single 8' registers on separate manuals of
a two-manual harpsichord, or, instead, single manual performance for each
bourree, with a different color for each piece. Though the parts never cross,
they come close in measure 8, where the note e' is shared by both treble and
bass. Bach's final version of this pair of dances contains the direction to the
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90
The gigue, written in the style designated by Little and Jenne as Giga
II26, echoes the descending figure w hich announces the prelude and first
courante. The opening ascending fourth (inverted to a descending fifth in the
second section) and the style of imitation at the lower octave unites it clearly
with the first bourree. The rhythmic ambiguities inherent in the cadences (for
example in mm. 3-4), w hich frequently in te rru p t the sm oothly flowing
sixteenth-note motion, give this gigue an atmosphere of rhythmic complexity
which is som ewhat rem iniscent of the courantes. The quasi petites reprises
which conclude each section (measures 12 and 36) contain the only dynamic
m arkings in the entire set of six suites. In the early version, the piano
markings were placed under the third rather than the second sixteenth-note
of each of the measures involved. However, the placement of these under the
second note of the measure accords more closely with the phrase structure. It
may be assum ed, though it is now here specifically indicated, that the
direction applies to both hands. In W alther's m anuscript the final chords of
each section were amplified by the addition of inner parts:
Example 3.7: BWV 806/x, a) mm. 13-16; b) mm. 37-40
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91
n r n n s v
3I .
=J
I /W
The second English Suite, along w ith the third in g, has become the
most popular of the set in the twentieth century. This has been no doubt due
to its magnificent prelude and the fiery and passionate nature of its dance
movements, underlined by its A m inor tonality. The second English Suite
begins the sequence of five suites, the preludes of which at least were clearly
planned from the start as a cycle. The order of keys: a, g, F, e, d, did not occur
by accident, and the Italianate elements common to both the preludes and the
dance movements, when compared to the first suite in A (which breaks the
sequence of keys outlined above), in d icate a considerable shift in
compositional technique. Many elements which find their parallels in the
"reform" church cantatas of the same period are present here: the da capo
structure of the preludes (borrowed from Italian opera), the increasing use of
Italianate forms of the dance, and the increasingly elaborate Italianate
ornam entation of certain of the movements, especially the Sarabandes. The
essential seriousness of the English Suites is further underlined by the fact
that, of the remaining five works, four are written in minor keys, the F major
suite occupying a mid-point of sunny and less profound repose.
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92
Prelude:
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93
rit.
Key: e
solo
Key: e
rit.
Key: e
The style brise effect (ingeniously built up from a single line of notes) at
mm. 70-77, incorporates the m ain theme of the solo episodes (this time
appearing in the bass) and is repeated a fifth lower at m. 99, sonorously
carrying the section through to its end. Though the texture is essentially twopart, it seems clear that certain bass notes are meant to be held down in order
fully to realize the implied contrapuntal lines. For example, in the sections at
mm. 70-77 and mm. 98-107 the performer might well hold the bass notes for
longer than their w ritten value, thereby taking advantage of the extra
resonance of the longer tenor and bass strings of the harpsichord, especially
on German harpsichords of the period where, with very long bass strings,
often the damping is less immediate in that region of the compass than in
other harpsichords. The textures and thematic material, not to m ention the
key of a minor, suggest an overall lively performance with a moderately fast
tempo.
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94
Allemande:
Unlike the allemande to BWV 806, the first dance m ovem ent of the
second suite is imitative in nature, the style brise figurations upon which the
first allemande is constructed, largely abandoned in favor of real thematic
interchange between the parts. The prevailing four-part texture of the piece
often thins down to three and two voices, providing, as in the prelude, builtin dynamic contrast on the harpsichord. The thematic m aterial of the first
section is freely inverted in the second. The comm on-tim e signature w ith
prevailing sixteenth-note motion suggests a slow tempo, perhaps counted in
eight rather than four. The allemande is the one dance movement which had
become largely stylized by the 1710's in Germany, often functioning as a sort
of prelude (though, the English Suites, of course, also contain separate
preludes). The added counterpoint in Bach's allemandes indicates further the
serious and expressive nature of the dance. On the harpsichord, performance
with a single 8' register probably will provide the clarity and expressiveness
necessary to this particular example. The sixteenth notes in conjunct motion
provide a legato contrast to the occasional shortly articulated gesture provided
by the dotted eighth and sixteenth notes grouped together.
Courante:
This example of the most widely used of French dances actually mixes
both French and Italian elements, preserving the rhythm of the French form
of the courante but adding an Italianate continuous bass, though the
experiment is not carried as far as in the courante to BWV 811. There is a
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The running nature of the bass smooths over the cadences at m. 4 and m. 9,
the piece coming to rest only at the double bar. The four-note slurs contained
in Schneider's and Gerber's copies (for example m l, soprano), along w ith the
conjunct motion suggest the application of notes inegales, as well as their
introduction in analagous passages (such as m. 2, bass, and in analagous
passages).
Sarabande:
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96
was standard French practice to provide agrements for the treble part only (in
any case, French keyboard suite movements were often supplied in a format
which m ade it possible to perform them either solo or in ensemble), and
several of the manuscript sources (Bl, D, E) contain only the soprano to the
present sarabande in its varied form. It has usually been assumed that the bass
of the unornam ented version of the sarabande should be transferred to the
ornamented version intact, but this leads to unpleasant dissonances from m.
25, and has led the Viennese harpsichordist Isolde Ahlgrimm to advance the
following solution to the problem29:
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97
The brise figuration of the bass in bounce 1 conceals a tonic pedal point
for the first three m easures, the effect im itated in the dom inant in the
analagous bars of the B section. The two p a rt texture sounds fuller in
perform ance when the perform er connects
holding down also the rising and falling figure in the implied m iddle part
(left hand). T hough m ost surviving copies of Bourr6e 1 contain no
articulation or phrasing marks, the paired eighth-notes in the left hand (for
example, at mm. 1-7) might permit a gentle suggestion of notes inegales.
Bourre 2, in the parallel major key, contains drone figures in the bass
at mm. 2-3, and elsewhere, evoking the French musette or bagpipe. This
suggests an artificially pastoral atmosphere, the upbeat figures to m. 1 and m.
9 requiring detached articulation in order to accent the drone figure in the
following measures, the bass of which should be resounded as necessary. A
repeat of Bourree 1 brings this sequence to a close.
Gigue:
This is a thoroughly Italianate work (Little and Jenne Giga II) in 6/8
time, and composed in two basically non-imitative parts. Rhythmically, the
piece is reminisent of a tarantella. Its debt to the Italian style is underlined by
the frequent passages in parallel thirds and tenths, the m om entum being
maintained from beginning to end. The piece bears a resemblence to certain
gigues from the violin sonatas of Corelli, (certain of H andel's gigues are also
in this mould, for example, those contained in the F# minor Suite from the
first collection of 1720, and the G major Suite from the collection of 1733) and
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98
indeed, Bach's gigue could well have been composed as the final movement
of a sonata for two different melody instrum ents. This is underlined by the
"accompanying" function of the bass in the first three m easures (one could
easily apply continuo chords to it, for example). The tempo is a brisk two to a
bar, with first and second time endings w ritten out in full for each of the
binary sections. A third and final ending indicates that the piece is to be
played through once again from beginning to end in its entirety.
Suite avec Prelude in g, BWV 808:
The g m inor English Suite is, along w ith the second in a minor, the
best-known of the set. It was also the first to be published in its entirety,
appearing in 1805 in the edition issued by Hoffmeister and Kuhnel as Suite 1.
In many ways it is the most approachable of all the English Suites, containing
a superb and obviously Vivaldian concerto m ovem ent as its prelude and a
sequence of most attractive dance movements.
Prelude:
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99
1 -33
Rit. Key:g
mm. 33 - 67
solo
Keys: g, d, c, Bb
mm. 67 - 99
Rit.
Key: Bb
109 -124
Rit.
Key: d
mm. 99 -108
solo
Keys: Bb, c, g, d
The ritom ello subject opens with an integral "orchestral" crescendo, achieved
by ad ding successive notes to the descending left hand chords, the
hom ophony giving the suggestion (but no m ore than that)
of im itation
Prelude
Like m any concerto ritornelli, the present one consists of a com plete
harmonic statement, beginning and ending in the tonic key. The first solo
episode introduces a contrasting theme which is developed in imitation, and
then combined with the first part of the ritom ello subject for the first time at
m. 35. The second ritomello statement at m. 67 introduces the first tune in
the relative major key. Presumably because of the keyboard range of the
harpsichord for which the suite was composed, the ritomello is "edited" at m.
72 in order to keep it within the treble upper limit of c'", perhaps providing a
clue to the dating of the piece.
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100
Apart from this m inor alteration, the ritom ello is stated in its entirety. A
further statement of the ritomello theme interrupts the solo at m. 109, taking
the piece down to the nether regions of the keyboard, settling briefly on AA
(the lowest note in the English Suites). A brief excursion into c m inor at m.
137 combines a solo episode with thematic material from the ritomello, its
orchestral guise underlined by the full chords of the opening. The piece
ventures as far afield as F minor ( and, briefly, A flat major) before working its
way around the circle of fifths back to a tonic statement of the ritomello at m.
180, the original descending thirds motive replaced by ascending sixths.
Indeed, Bach's use of the circle of fifths to effect modulations from one key
center to the next is one of the m ost obviously Vivaldian features of this
movement. The level of invention is, however, purely Bach's own.
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101
In performance, the piece is a good candidate for the use of the plein jeu
(full harpsichord). The overlapping of ritomello and solo sections ("elisions"
in Schulenberg's terminology) render attem pts to divide the work between
different manuals (representing the contrast between solo and tutti sections)
unusually difficult. However, the built-in textural and dynamic contrasts
make two-manual alternation superfluous, the divisions between tutti and
solo rem aining obvious even w hen dressed in the same color. The tem po
should be an energetic Allegro. The manuscript copy referred to here as Bl,
most likely by Bach's student Johann Schneider,31 contains this piece notated
in 6 /8 time, with the bars all divided into their 3/8 component parts by m eans
of smaller barlines. This is the only movement in any of the English Suite for
which even a fragm ent of autograph m aterial survives: seven m easures
before the da capo in Schneider's manuscript, the hand of Bach himself is
apparent. Perhaps significantly, the odd dual barring in 6 /8 and 3 /8
throughout the piece is abandoned in favor of straight 3/8 notation.
Example 3.13: BWV 808/i, Staatsbibliothek Preufiischer Kulturbesitz Bach
Mus. ms. P I072.
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102
A llem ande:
The allemande to BWV 808 is unusual in that its thematic material is
passed imitatively from bass to soprano, the initial statement occurring in the
lower part. The middle part of this essentially 3-part piece does not join in the
conversation until a statement of the theme in m8 moves the tonal center to
the dominant. The second half of the piece returns the thematic statements
back to the usual order, soprano then bass. Measures 10-11 contain one of the
most obvious examples of undisguised parallel octaves to occur in a piece by
Bach, softened only by the approach by downw ard step in sixteenth notes in
the upper part.
The copies by Schneider and Gerber (the second copied from the first) contain
a few fingering indications at m. 15,16,18 and 19.
Example 3.14: BWV 808/ii, mm. 15,16; 18, 19.
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103
These are, of course, much too sparse to indicate very much, but they are
included in the NBA edition for their documentary value.
C ourante32:
One of the most impressive of Bach's sarabandes, this one opens over a
tonic pedal which lasts for almost the entire first half of the piece. The second
half contains the following enharmonically notated progressions over the
raised sixth of the key of g minor:
Example 3.15: BWV 808/iv, mm. 16-20
i
I
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104
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105
rather than the usual half-bar upbeat to the first complete measure that one
would expect to find in a gavotte. The appogiatura notated on the first beat of
m. 1 only partially offsets the apparently deliberate ambiguity created. The
repeated bass notes at mm. 18-23 re-create the flavor of the French tambourin,
an effect which is increased by the ever diminishing note values in which the
repeated g's of the left hand are notated.
Example 3.16: BWV 808/vi, mm. 18-23
An articulated silence in the right hand between the upbeat and the
first complete bar is necessary in order to clarify the rhythm. The effect should
be to produce an accent on the right hand bb which then establishes the
standard rhythm of the gavotte. The paired slurring, contained in the most
reliable copies at m. 7, in all likelihood indicates inequality of the paired
notes. Groups of notes in conjunct motion are often grouped in four by a slur:
perhaps this is meant to denote equality of notes and should be applied where
appropriate elsewhere (for example, m. 10, bass).
The second gavotte, in the tonic major, is described in some of the early
m anuscript sources by the title ou la Musette. Bach's two otherwise m ost
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106
reliable copyists for the English Suites (Schneider and Gerber, who copied
from him) both show their poor grasp of the French language by their
misspelling of Musette (a courtly and refined bagpipe, used in French music
to evoke pastoral images) as Murette and Muretta. The possibility exists that
the misspelling stems from Bach himself! The drone effects of the musette
are captured by the use of a long pedal note which is to be resounded as
necessary throughout the performance. As with the first gavotte, the opening
unaccented upbeat rhythm is hard to grasp: the barring indicates its presence,
but the ear does not detect it w ithout resounding the lower g on the first beat
of m. 1. The slurring contained in the upbeat and m. 1 of gavotte II would, if
taken literally, throw the accents away from the usual strong beats 1 an 3 onto
the weak ones. Perhaps this slurring is m eant to be extended to the many
pairs of eighth notes throughout the piece. Presumably then, the groups of
four eighth notes in conjunct motion (m. 3, 10,11) are to be played using notes
egales, taking their cues from analagous groupings in the first gavotte (m. 17,
for example).
Gigue;
The gigue, Giga I in the classification of Little and Jenne since it uses
the note values of the pulse rhythm w ithout further subdivision, is a
thoroughly Italianate piece in fugal style, the answer to the subject being tonal
rather than real in nature. The third part which enters as would normally be
expected in a fugal exposition (bass entry in the tonic, m. 6), mysteriously
disappears after the first 13 measures, to re-appear briefly in the second half
before disappearing for good at m. 29. (This type of "feigned" fugal entry,
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107
another Italianate feature of this gigue, also occurs in the gigue to BWV 809).
The second half provides an inversion of the theme which enters first in the
uncompleted middle part. With the exception of the imitative exposition and
rudim entary third part, the gigue inhabits m uch the same w orld as that
contained in BWV 807, relentless in its energy and relative lack of internal
cadences or other points of repose. In performance, a plein jeu registration (8',
8', 4' on a three-choir instrument) would be appropriate.
Suite avec Prelude in F. BWV 809:
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108
The meaning of these is unknown, but perhaps, given the conjunct nature of
the notes of the subject and the predominantly French style of the work, they
direct the player to play notes egales. (Bach's use of dots in the French-style
sixteenth variation of the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, mm. 8-9, probably
has the same explanation). The prelude is another concerto-like movement
in da capo form, with clear distinctions betw een the ritomello and the solo
sections, as would occur in a real concerto, though elements of both sections
are combined later in the m ovem ent. Though the opening ritom ello is
composed in only two parts, consisting of a theme im itated at the lower
octave as in tw o-part invention, the texture is later thickened with fuller
chords:
Example 3.18: BWV 809/i, mm. 15-16.
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109
The first "solo" section features broken chord figuration reminiscent of the
harpsichord part in Brandenburg Concerto V.
Example 3.19: BWV 809/i, mm. 20-23
The contrast betw een this and the ritom ello them e suggests the use of
alternate m anuals of the harpsichord; unlike the prelude to BWV 808, the
phrase structure in the F major piece makes this possible. At m. 28 a further
"countersubject" is introduced, similar to the subject from the B flat minor
prelude from the WTC I.
Example 3.20: BWV 809/i, mm. 28-30
This is used also in its inverted form at m. 65 and later. The prelude to BWV
809 contains a high level of contrapuntal complexity, and represents a
successful com bination of styles d eriv ed equally from the Italian
instrum ental concerto and German fugal tradition. Once again, the form of
the prelude is derived essentially from the Italian concerto, and displays the
following sections:
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110
1-20
rit.
F
mm. 20-27
solo
F -C
mm. 27-34
rit.
C
mm. 34-38
solo
C ,g,d
mm. 38-45
rit.
d
mm. 45-51
solo
d -a
mm. 60-69
rit.
d,g,B b
mm. 70-77
solo
Bb- F
mm. 77-84
rit.
F
mm. 84-88
solo
F
89-108
rit. (da capo)
F
A llem ande:
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Ill
the distribution of the m iddle part between both hands would prevent twomanual performance, in contrast to those dances composed in two parts.
C ourante:
The courante is imitative: the right hand tune at bar 2 is taken over by
the left hand a twelth lower in the next bar. The classic hemiola of the French
courante appears in the penultim ate bars of each section (m. 7 and m. 19),
preparing the listener for the implied change of time signature in the final
bars of each section, from the prevailing 3 /2 to 6/4.
Example 3.21: BWV 809/iii, a) mm. 7-8; b) mm. 19-20
The dotted q u a rte r/e ig h th note groupings contrast effectively w ith the
running eighth-notes throughout, their impact enhanced in performance by
application of notes inegales to the eighths in conjunct m otion, and a
corresponding sharpening of the eighth notes contained in the dotted quarter
groupings. On a German style harpsichord, two 8' registers (coupled) would
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b) NBA
The performer m ust consider the question of whether to ornam ent the
repeats (the w ritten agrements from BWV 807/8 provide the models), or to
include an ornamented version of the sarabande as a separate work to follow
the main version. Though no articulation marks appear in the most reliable
copies of the work, clearly the accents falling on the second beats m ust be
emphasised, the desirability of this effect is implied by the written out thirtysecond notes preceding the accented notes in m easures 1, 5 and elsewhere.
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113
These dim inutions produce the effect of a short upbeat. There is the
possibility of applying notes inegales to passages in eighth notes m oving in
conjunct motion, such as the soprano in m easures 3, 7 and 19. Maximum
resonance seems appropriate to the grand and monumental character of this
work: full harpsichord is appropriate here.
Menuet I and II:
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114
by one hand or the other. The slurring which appears in many of the copies at
various measures in M enuet I should be applied to all analagous passages
throughout. This consists chiefly of slurs placed over all six eighth notes of a
bar, or paired slurring such as appears in m. 10. This m enuet is an obvious
candidate for notes inegales, especially in those passages of conjunctly moving
eighth notes: in this case the slurs at mm. 7 - 8 and elsewhere can be seen as
exceptions to the rule. Though it is not specifically indicated, the broken
chord figures at mm. 1 - 3 of M enuet II should probably be played equally.
Menuet I is, of course, to be performed in alternativement.
Gigue:
This is a genuine giga da caccia. The F major tonality inspires Bach to
write one of his most approachable and characteristic im itative gigues, the
arpeggiando hunting theme of the right hand im itated at the lower octave
halfway through the same measure. There is a brief excursion into three parts
at the upbeat to measure 6, the extra voice disappearing again two bars later.
Notable are the hunting calls, which occur at mm. 12-13, and then again as a
sort of pedal point at mm. 30-31 (bass), mm. 33-4 (soprano) and mm. 41-2
(bass), this theme recalls the posthom aria from the early Capriccio (BWV
992). The second half announces the theme in its usual inverted form: both
in terms of its intervals and its position on the keyboard. In performance, the
full harpsichord is surely mandatory, as well as a vigorous four beats to a bar
and accents on all of the syncopated figures which are, in any case, usually
underlined by the addition of mordents. This gigue is of the type classified by
Little and Jenne as Giga I, in which the pulse value and the smallest note
values are identical.
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115
The last two English Suites are among Bach's very greatest works for
keyboard. Richard Jones, the editor for the Associated Board of the Royal
Schools of Music believes, reasonably, that they m ust have been the last to
have been composed.34 The preludes are m ore elaborate and extended than
those in the first four suites, the contrapuntal elements reach their highest
level of learning and complexity, and the dance m ovem ents often approach
and sometimes transcend the limits of the forms in which they are outwardly
cast. The keys, E minor and D m inor underline the seriousness of the works,
and complete the descending sequence of keys established at the outset by
BWV 807.
Prelude:
This is the first genuinely fugal prelude to appear among the English
Suites. The symmetrical them e is divided into two balanced sections, the
second a direct reply to the first:
Example 3.23: BWV 810/i, mm. 1-4
34 J. S. Bach, Six English Suites, Richard Jones, ed. (London, 1987), Introduction (p.4).
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116
The subject is followed by a tonal answer in the alto. The final part in this
essentially three-voice structure enters in the bass at m. 7. Structurally, the
m ovem ent once again borrow s from the instrum ental concerto, w ith
contrasting sections corresponding to the ritomello and solo sections usual to
that form. As is the case w ith all of the other preludes other than the first, the
work is concluded with a da capo statement of the first ritomello section. The
form of this work, however, differs from the clearcut layout of the third and
fourth preludes, w here the divisions betw een solo and tutti sections are
distinct, and the sections clearly alternate w ith one another. There are really
only two "solo" sections in this prelude, where episodic material different in
thematic content and texture from that in the ritom ellos is introduced. The
third ritomello section of this prelude merges into the da capo repeat of the
opening music. The following diagram shows the structure and major key
areas:
1-40
ritom ello
e
While the use of the contrasting upper m anual may seem initially
attractive to the perform er, the situation is complicated by the continuous
nature of the final ritomello which leads directly into the recapitulation at m.
117. It is perhaps advisable to consider this prelude in the same light as BWV
808, where the overlapping nature of ritom ello and solo sections makes the
use of contrasting m anuals difficult and superfluous. The fifth prelude is, in
fact, as much indebted to other Italian forms such as the da capo aria as it is to
the concerto, and the difference in texture and figuration between the solo
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117
and tutti sections makes the musical contrast perfectly clear w ithout the
addition of external aids, such as changes of manual. In any case, the first solo
them e can be seen equally well as a fugal rather than a concerto-derived
episode in this tightly controlled contrapuntal piece.
A llem ande:
Like the imitative allemande to BWV 807, the fifth allemande is also
uncom prom ising in its voice leading and the angularity of its lines. The
imitation in BWV 810 is, however, far more extended and uncompromising
than the A m inor allemande. The m aterial in the right hand at mm. 3-4 is
inverted in the second half at mm. 14-15, producing along the way some
extraordinary dissonances. The hands cross over each other at mm. 5-6,
indicating the desirability of playing the piece on two manuals (one 8' register
used on each in order to achieve proper balance). The mainly two-part texture
thickens in the last three bars of each section with the addition of a third
voice as the major cadences are approached, leading to an intensification of
expression and dynamic.
C ourante:
This stormy and dramatic piece affixes written-out accents to the chords
which are upbeats to some of the major internal cadences (m. 1, 6, 7 and 8),
the accent being displaced in the penultimate bar of the first section to prepare
for the change of meter at the final bar. These accents are continued in the
second half of the piece at m. 24, 25 and 26. Cleverly conceived imitation
occurs where m. 1 in the right hand becomes m. 3 in the left. The tied notes in
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m. 1 and 3 introduce syncopation betw een the eleventh and twelth eighthnotes of these bars. Though a case may be made for playing the sequences of
conjunct eighth notes inegale, the Italianate nature of this running figuration,
not to mention the tempo - perhaps somewhat faster than the average French
style courante given the general affect - probably should preclude it. The
dram a inherent in the piece makes it a good candidate for performance on
full harpsichord. The upbeats should reinforce the accents which begin the
following bars; often, this accent is reinforced by the inclusion of a full
arpeggiated chord (mm. 1-2, right hand). The ornaments in the right hand
which begin bars 7 and 8 are of the short German accentus type rather than
stan d ard appogiaturas, their im portance highlighted by the preceding
accented upbeats, and therefore should be short and performed on the beat.
Sarabande:
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119
. p - . , ,
m r
* S ?*?= M
s* .
The second passepied contains a long tonic pedal in its first half, once
again emphasising the pastoral associations of the passepied. W hether all of
Passepied 1, or only the theme en rondeau should then be repeated depends on
the performer: with a complete repeat of the piece and all its couplets the set
takes on a rather substantial character. In performance, one should perhaps
opt for light registration, lower 8' (perhaps with 4' added), contrasting with
upper 8' in the second passepied seems right. The upbeats should, of course,
due to the wide intervallic leap, be short.
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120
Gigue:
In the second half, both the theme and the order of voice entries are inverted.
An original touch is the appearance of the off-beat chords in the left hand at
mm. 44-46, a similar effect is also introduced into the right hand in the second
half at mm. 92-95. In perform ance, a full harpsichord registration will
produce perhaps the most telling effect: on a two manual instrument this will
include 8', 8', 4' with the coupler engaged.
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121
This m onum ental w ork is one of the m ost elaborate and extensive
suites which Bach - or any other com poser - ever w rote, exceeding in
dimensions even the E m inor Partita from the Clavieriibung, Part I (BWV
830). It was the second of the English Suites to be published after Bach's death,
and first appeared in 1812/13 in the edition of A. Kiihnel. It is clear that it was
planned by Bach as the longest and most involved of all the suites avec preludes,
with a dark and hypnotic quality pervading all of its movements. In the outer
m ovem ents, the p relude and gigue, Bach exhausts the possibilities of
invertible counterpoint, one of the prim ary concerns which occupies the
composer at various points throughout the English Suites.
Prelude:
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122
forms the basis of a predominantly three-part fugue. The use of the subject in
both its real and inverted forms (the latter for the first time at m. 50, alto), as
well as the unusually thorough exploitation of sequential figuration such as
that occurring at mm. 53-56, provides the material for the opening section,
which, given its epic proportions (48 measures) and closed harmonic scheme,
constitutes an entire piece in itself. The following episode, beginning with a
compelling repeated note figure, appears at m. 86:
Example 3.26: BWV 811/i, mm. 86-87
This material is used in the same m anner as the opening subject, in both its
real and in v erted form s. The repeated notes of this figure assume
considerable importance throughout the movement, producing the following
extraordinary pedal-points at m. 113 and m. 115:
Example 3.27: BW^V 811/i, mm. 113-16
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123
These measures create a sort of axis of symmetry, dividing the B section into
two halves. The concerto-like distinctions between solo and tutti sections,
which are clear-cut in some of the other preludes, are blurred by the fugal
framework, and the movement does not neatly divide up between different
manuals of the harpsichord. Though the contrasting theme which occurs first
at m. 86 may be thought of as a solo, the sections containing that theme and
its variants, and the various perm utations of the thematic material from the
opening "tutti" often run seamlessly from one to another, rendering the use
of two contrasting m anuals at odds w ith the form al logic on which the
m ovem ent is based. After exhaustive treatm ent given to the them atic
material, a short statement of the second subject at m. 143 in the subdom inant
key of g m inor leads back to a literal restatem ent of the opening fugal
exposition, concluding Bach's single longest movement for keyboard.
A llem ande:
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124
C ourante:
In this complex and som ew hat experim ental courante, Bach has
w edded an almost continuous bass in eighth-notes to the normal rhythm of
the French form of the dance. This has been seen by one author as a conscious
combination of both French and Italian styles, although the bass to this
courante is no m ore continuous (or necessarily Italian) than the second
double of Courante II from the A major Suite35. The effect of the "walking"
bass, however, is to sm ooth over the various internal cadences which
normally determine to a large extent the rhythm and phrase structure of the
french courante. The succession of trills with w ritten-out term inations in the
right hand at mm. 13 - 15 produces further rhythmic ambiguities, weakening
the influence of the 3 /2 time signature, and creating a phrase structure where
the resolutions occur across the barlines.
Sarabande and Double:
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125
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126
A further link betw een this suite and the third in G m inor is the
inclusion in each of a pair of gavottes, the second of the pair on each occasion
employing similar pastoral effects. The Italian walking-bass idea (observed by
David Schulenberg in works by Corelli, as well as in connection w ith the
courante of the present suite)36 occurs in Gavotte I, where the half-bar upbeat
traditionally associated with the dance type is even less aurally discernable
than the corresponding passage in BWV 808. The vertical strokes appearing
in the penultim ate bar of Gavotte I may indicate detachment as well as an
accent.
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127
1699), but not so much by Bach's time, though it appears in early harpsichord
works such as the D major Toccata (BWV 912). A repetition of Gavotte I
rounds off this sequence of galanterien.
Gigue:
The long trills at mm. 11-12, 20-22 and 23-24 occur under extended pedalpoints, over which occur remarkable chromatic figuration.
Example 3.29, BWV 811/vii, mm. 19-24.
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128
The second section concentrates on the inverted form of both the subject and
counter-subject.
Example 3.30: BWV 811/vii mm. 25-26
The suggestion, first made by Alfred Kreutz37, that the inversion should also
apply to the ornaments themselves, producing at measure 30, for example a
pince continu between a and g #, has been taken up by the editor of th NBA
edition, Alfred Diirr, so that all of the ornaments are inverted in the second
half. This interpretation is confirmed by the following m anuscript sources: B
1, B 2, C, D, E, but these ornam ent signs are absent from later manuscripts
such as, for example, the Lichnowsky copies from the 1780's (G).38 Such literal
interpretation of the idea of inversion leads to considerable harm onic tension
in various places, notably at mm. 44-46, where the a' -g#' oscillation creates
dissonances with the complexities taking place in the other parts.
37 Johnnit Sebastian Bach, Sechs Englischen Suiten, Alfred Kreutz, ed. (Leipzig, 1950).
38 NBA Kritische Bericht V /7 1981, p. 180.
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129
2----------------------------- ^
.j ' . s
?|J>
?
A
K
J'
et a
?b* ? *
f a t a
? i.* "
? i. '-13
t ii fb p r ,
* f *
Bach reserves his best trick for last, when, in the final two m easures he
combines the subject with its inversion over a tonic pedal in the bass.
Example 3.32: BWV 811/vii, mm. 55-56.
the two halves of this gigue do not constitute an exact m irroring of the the
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130
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131
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132
As has been stated in earlier chapters, the English Suites were singled
out by Johann Nikolaus Forkel for special praise, the gigues of BWV 810 and
811 being regarded especially highly. Forkel's vague and unreferenced
explanation of the title, most likely derived, as w as m uch of his material,
from correspondence with Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Phillip Emmanual
Bach, helped to create the mystery surrounding the composition and original
title of the six Suites avec Preludes which continues to the present day. What is
clear, however, is that m anuscript copies of the English Suites circulated
widely in the second half of the eighteenth century, a situation evident from
the number and diversity of the surviving copies.
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133
certainly seems likely that their m ain use w as in teaching. In any case,
manuscript copies continued to be made right up to the early decades of the
nineteenth century.
The year 1760 saw the first printing of m ovements from the English
Suites when the pair of Gavottes from BWV 808 was published by Friedrich
Wilhelm Birnstiel in Berlin under the title Musette. The suites in complete
form appeared over the extended period of twenty-two years, between 1805,
when BWV 808 was issued by Hoffmeister and Kuhnel as Suite 1, and 1830,
when BWV 806 appeared as Suite 6.
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134
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135
between the English Suites and the suites of Dieupart, and this topic was also
the subject of a num ber of lectures given at London's Royal Institution in
April 1892 by both Dannreuther6 and another English scholar, William Henry
Husk.7
The English composer and Bach enthusiast, Sir H ubert Parry, writing
in 1909, referred to the English Suites (their composition dates, as revealed by
the surviving m an u scrip ts and already basically know n to Spitta,
notwithstanding) as Bach's final statements in suite form and the "essential
demonstration of the Teutonic ideal". Parry continued:
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136
sarabandes, the sparkling vivacity of the b o u rs e s and the gavottes, and the
superb texture of the gigues combine to make this series of suites stand
entirely alone as representing the very highest examples of the type in
existence.8
The French writer, Andr6 Pirro, devoted most of his discussion of the
English Suites to their relationship to the works of French composers, opting
for Le Roux rather than Dieupart as the likely inspiration9. The English Suites
had to wait until the early years of the tw entieth century for anything
approaching a perform ance revival. Most unusually for the time, the
American pianist and harpsichordist, Arthur Whiting, who had studied early
keyboard instrum ents with A rnold Dolmetsch, perform ed the G m inor
English Suite in a combined piano-harpsichord recital at Mendelssohn Hall
in New York on 11 December, 190710, an event reviewed in the New York
Times. The Bach suite was perform ed, along with works by Rameau and
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137
immediately upon his graduation from the Royal College of London at the
turn of the century. Later in his career, beginning with a concert in Wigmore
Hall in 1919, the entire program of which was devoted to the music of Bach,
Samuel embarked on a remarkable series of "Bach Weeks". In this bi-ennial
series, a different selection of Bach's keyboard music was presented on each of
six consecutive days of the week, the first taking place in 1921, and continuing
throughout the rem ainder of the decade. Among the repertoire presented in
this important series of concerts were two of the English Suites, BWV 807 and
808. The A m inor suite was also recorded for the Columbia Graphophone
Company, the bourrees being recorded in 1923, the other m ovem ents
following in 1926.12By 1928, the English Suites were highly praised by one of
Arnold Dolmetsch's old adversaries, J. A. Fuller Maitland. In his little book,
Bach's Keyboard Suites, Fuller Maitland described the English Suites in terms
of the highest praise while disputing Parry's erroneous dating of the works,
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138
noting the existence of Gerber's manuscript copy made between 1724-27, w hen
Gerber was a student at Leipzig University.
T hat the m ovem ents from the English Suites m ost frequently
represented in p rin t and perform ance w ere the "galant" Gavottes and
Passepieds, despite the increasing frequency w ith w hich complete editions
appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century, represented a
continuation of the tradition w hich was established in 1760, w hen the
Gavottes from BWV 808 became the first m ovem ents to be published. The
popularity of the galanterien no doubt also reflected a nineteenth-century view
which considered the "courtly" music of eighteenth-century composers as the
m ost approachable. This influence was still strong throughout the first three
decades of the tw entieth century, as is evidenced by the concentration on
these same movements in Landowska's and Samuel's earlier recordings. The
bourrees to BWV 807, for example, were originally recorded by Sam uel
sim ply as a "fill-up" to his perform ance of the Chrom atic Fantasy and
Fugue13.
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Argerich, Angela H ew itt and Ivo Pogorelich have also perform ed and
recorded some of the English suites.
recordings are those of Leonhardt and Curtis, since each reflects the changing
approach to the use of historical instruments. Gustav Leonhardt first recorded
the English Suites on a harpsichord built Martin Skowroneck in 1962, based
on an instrum ent m ade by J. D. Dulcken in 174514. W hen Leonhardt re
recorded the works in 1984, an antique two-manual harpsichord by Nicholas
Lefebvre of Rouen, m ade in 1755, was used in order to stress their French
characteristics.15 Alan Curtis was the first harpsichordist to record the works
on an original German harpsichord of Bach's era. In this case the instrum ent
14 Pro-Arte PAL-3004
15 EMI Reflexe EX 27 0243 3
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140
featured was the 1728 tw o-m anual instrum ent by the H am burg maker,
Christian Zell16.
in stru m e n ts
of H arafi, b u ilt
rig h t
in
B ach's
vicin ity
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Bach's works in suite form range from early pieces, which date from as
far back as the Miihlhausen years, right through to the im portant late suite
compositions of the Clavieriibung, Parts 1 and 2: the six Partitas (BWV 825-30)
and the Ouverture nach Franzdsischer Art, BWV 831. In addition to suites for
keyboard, Bach produced six works for solo cello, three Partitas for solo violin,
a Partita for solo flute, and four Ouverturen for orchestra, w ritten for
performance by the Leipzig Collegium Musicum w hich Bach directed in the
1730's. Bach's earliest suites date from before the W eimar years, and have
survived mainly through the efforts of indefatigable music collectors like
Bach's student, Johann Peter Kellner1. The terms suite, partita and ouverture
were often used as alternatives to each other, and certain of the suites of Bach
appear in more than one m anuscript under different but equivalent titles. In
the earliest copy, for example, the A major English Suite is called Prelude avec
les suites, whereas the most common title for the English Suites throughout
Of the major collections of suites, the set of six Suites a violoncello senza
basso outwardly resemble the English Suites most closely, containing almost
exactly the same sequence of movements. This fact, and the unvarying order
of movements (only different galanterien occur throughout the set, as also
happens among the English Suites), led the German scholar, Karl Geiringer,
to assume a similar date of composition for the two sets, between 1720 and
1 For a discussion of Bach's early suite com positions, see David Schulenberg, The Ket/board
Music of
/. S. Bach, (N ew York, 1992), pp. 29-42.
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1724,2 though the more extensive use of Italianate figurations throughout the
suites for cello, specifically in the allemandes, and especially the one in the
sixth suite, perhaps suggests a later date for those works than for the English
Suites, which rem ain predominantly French in their influence.
The three Partitas for solo violin (BWV 1002, 1004, 1006), which
alternate with three sonatas to make up a set of six works, are largely Italian
in style, though French dance types are also represented. The title of the first
Partita may be taken as literally reflective of the original m eaning of the
Italian word partie, which referred to a set of variations. Variants or "doubles"
of each of the Italianate movements, Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabande and Tempo
di Borea are included, a practice which is echoed in certain movements of the
English Suites nos. 1, 2, 3, and 6. The same commixture of French and Italian
concepts as we find in the English Suites is also present in the Partitas for solo
violin where the French term double is used to describe movements which
are essentially elaborations in the Italian style, employing dim inution of the
prevailing note-values, rather than superimosing melodic em bellishm ents,
or re-constituting a melodic line in style brise, as occurs in the double to the
sarabande in BWV 811. Only the third Partita for solo violin in E major
comes under the category of Suites avec Preludes, possessing a lively and
virtuosic concertante-style prelude, which Bach re-used in full orchestral
dress, with obbligato organ, three trum pets and timpani, in the ceremonial
key of D major, as the introductory sinfonia to Cantata 29, Wir danken dir,
Gott, wir danken dir.
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The six French Suites (BWV 812-17) have enjoyed a parallel existence
to the English Suites, perhaps on account of a mysterious name which has, as
in the case of their larger companions, attached itself to them. Unlike the
English Suites, five of the French Suites survive in autograph, in the
Clavierbuchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach of 1722-25, though the fifth suite was
not copied into the book until around 1724, by which time Bach had m oved
from Cothen to Leipzig. In addition, the French Suites survive in two further
distinct versions, the first basically following the autograph, and written out
by Bach's son-in-law, Altnikol, the variants contained in the later one
perhaps indicative of revisions which Bach m ade to these pieces throughout
his career.3 As has been noted, the English Suites, which, with the exception
of BWV 806, also exist in num erous manuscript copies, show no evidence of
having been revised or re-worked later in Bach's career. Interesting among
the various sources containing the French and English Suites is the grouping,
by Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber, of fifteen of Bach's English and French Suites
into two volumes4, one containing suites with preludes, the other containing
those without. The sixth French Suite is included in the volume of suites
with preludes, with the E major prelude from WTC I added at the
beginning. 5
3 Schulenberg (1992, 256), gives a com plete account of the situation regarding revisions to the
French Suites
4 Alfred Diirr, "Heinrich N ik olau s Gerber als Schuler Bachs", Bach Jahrbuch, 64. Jahrgang
(1978), pp. 7-18.
5 For a fuller discussion of Gerber's numbering of the suites, see Chapter 1: "Manuscript
Sources".
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diverse and essentially galant nature, the French Suites contain dance (and
occasional non-dance) types which are not encountered in the English Suites,
titles such as loure, anglaise, polonaise and air appearing throughout the set.
The six Partitas, BWV 825-30, were the first works to be published by the
composer, appearing between the years 1726 and 1731, as the first part of the
Clavieriibung. Like the English Suites, the Partitas all contain introductory
preludes, all given different titles in the later set: Praeludium, Sinfonia, Fantasia,
Ouverture, Praeambulum, Toccata. The structure of the preludes makes an
interesting comparison w ith those of the English Suites, which are also
written in a diversity of styles, despite the unvarying nomenclature. Thus,
the Praeludium to BWV 825 is written in three-voice counterpoint, recalling
both the affekt and scope of the corresponding prelude to BWV 806; the
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BWV 811; the Fantasia to BWV 827 is, in reality, an extended two-part
invention (Bach's three-part Sinfonias, BWV 787-801, were also originally
called Fantasias in the Clavierbuchlein fu r Wilhelm Friedemann); BWV 828, in the
ceremonial key of D major, opens with an Overture in the French style, and
the sixth Partita, like the corresponding English Suite, the largest and darkest
of the set, is preceded by a movement originally called Prelude, but renamed
Toccata for the publication of 1731. None of the introductory movements
As in the first English Suite, the opening work in the set of six Partitas
is generally lighter in style and of smaller dim ensions than the five later
suites. As is the case w ith the last five English Suites, the Partitas are
compiled according to a set key sequence, in this case radiating out in both
directions from the center of Bb:
G, a, Bb, c, d, e.
5, 3,1, 2,4,6
The six Partitas, reflecting their later compositional date, utilize a wider
keyboard range than the English Suites, the standard compass of the later
1720's: GG - d '". The Partitas explore more fully the galant elements which
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begin to appear in the French Suites, especially the last two works of the set.
In the Partitas, the dance types, which are all closely related to their models in
the English Suites, often become almost unrecognizable: movements such as
the allem andes from BWV 827, 828 and 830 appear to transcend the
boundaries of the form w hich they are supposed to represent. It is also
significant that in Bach's orchestral overtures and in his last published
keyboard suite, the Ouverture nach Franzdsischer Art, BWV 831, the allemande is
finally dispensed with, perhaps indicating its final disappearance from
general practical use. Perhaps the m ost striking parallel betw een the two
major sets of Bach's keyboard suites is the inclusion at the very end of gigues
which, though very different in m eter and style from each other,
nevertheless fulfill much the same function, providing in each case a strange
but compelling conclusion to the set. The use of invertible counterpoint in
the second half is yet another feature shared by these two gigues.
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form al and the resu lts are n o t so uncom prom isingly w orked out.
Comparison of the two suite collections provides a clear picture of Bach's
changing priorities over the ten years or so which probably separate their
composition. The P artitas on the w hole contain m ore overtly melodic
writing, less geared to contrapuntal artifice, and with less strict adherence to
the formalities imposed by the dance models. O n occasion, their contrapuntal
complexity is the salient feature, as is certainly the case in BWV 830 (toccata
and gigue). But, even in this highly developed and contrapuntally ingenious
suite, the galant style is also much in evidence, for, alternating with the large
movements are such pieces as the Tempo di Gavotta (which is a transcription
of w hat was originally intended as a m ovem ent for the sixth violin and
harpsichord sonata, BWV 1019)6, and the very slight and non-dance-like Air.
Perhaps in the sheer variety of movements lies the clue to the title of
the Partitas: though not w ritten to dem onstrate the technique of variation,
the movements contained therein are more diverse, both in style and overall
format, than those found in any other of Bach's collections of suites. Bach's
original title page for the 1731 collected printing actually emphasises both the
diversity of movements and the importance of the galanterien. As a whole, the
Partitas are perhaps a less formidable, more popular set of suites than the
English Suites. It is easy to see how, before a relatively reliable m ethod for
dating the English Suites existed, they could have been mistaken for, in the
words of Sir H ubert Parry: "Bach's last word in that form and the essential
demonstration of the Teutonic ideal".7
6 Schulenberg 1992, p. 295.
7 Sir Hubert Parry, Bach, (London, 1909) pp. 463-4.
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Chapter 6: Conclusion:
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The five rem aining, and presum ably later, English Suites provide
examples of the fusion of various national styles: Italian, French and
indigenous German, which Bach m astered throughout the remaining years
of the 1710's and beyond. Though the preludes are perhaps the most striking
examples of Bach's ability to combine features of different national genres the Italian concerto and da capo aria, for example - the French dance rhythms,
style brise, the German fugue, extended imitation, tw o-part invention, and the
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150
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intrinsic qualities. They are bold, daring, cosmopolitan, and m ature works
from a relatively early period in the career of one of m usic's outstanding
composers, the study of which continues to yield unexpected treasures.
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80 th
1 Clavesin
50 th
1 ditto
50 th
1 ditto (smaller)
20 th
1 Lautenwerck
30 th
1 Spinettgen
3 th
Enquiry has usually centered on the first item, the most valuable and
presum ably largest of the instrum ents. If this harpsichord was, in fact,
veneered then it would have been exceptional: m ost Saxon harpsichords
were m ade of plain solid pine, rath er than elaborately veneered, and
instrum ents of the Hamburg school of harpsichord making from this period
were usually painted. The list of instrum ents from Bach's estate does not
1 "Specificatio of the Estate left by the late Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach formerly Cantor at
the Thom as-schule in Leipzig, Departed in God, July 28, 1750", reprinted in The Bach Reader,
(N ew York, 1966), pp. 193-198.
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inform us about harpsichords that Bach may have used during the various
stages of his career, or of the com poser's changing requirem ents during
different periods. Certain general features of Bach's keyboard requirem ents
are well-known, both from evidence contained in his harpsichord music, and
comments transm itted through his students. Few of Bach's harpsichord
works, for example, actually require a two-manual instrument, and those that
do are contained mainly in the relatively late Clavierubung: the Italian Concerto,
BWV 971, French Overture, BWV 831 and Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, being
the chief examples. A nother factor in establishing Bach's expectations
regarding keyboard instruments is the question of keyboard range: as has been
shown regarding the English Suites, the range required is A A - c'", and the
prelude to the third suite provides clear evidence that this range was
deliberately kept within2. It has also been shown that, in general, German
instrum ents which extended to c'" rather than d '" tend to date from no later
than 1720, while the GG - d '" range becomes common from the mid-1720's3,
which is reflected in Bach's use of this more extended range (the six Partitas,
which Bach began to publish in 1726 require this range, w hereas Das
Wohltemperierte Klavier I, compiled in 1722 rem ains w ithin a m ere four
octaves, C - c"'.4
Of the various instrum ents which have been associated w ith Bach
throughout the twentieth century, none can be proven definitively to have
had any connection w ith him. W hen Frank H ubbard p ro d u ced his
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However, with the increase in interest which instrum ent makers have
begun to express in German harpsichords, a considerable am ount of evidence
has been gathered, attesting to their high quality in general, and specifically
strengthening the claims that a num ber of these instruments may have been
associated with Bach at some time or other. What follows is a summary of the
latest research regarding some of the instrum ents w hich fall into this
category.
5 Frank Hubbard, Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making, (Cambridge, MA, 1965), p. 191.
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Throughout the early years of the century, this instrum ent was
definitively put forward as the instrum ent of J. S. Bach. In an article in 1924,
Georg Kinsky repudiated its claim to authenticity, both in term s of its
relationship to Bach, and the originality of its disposition, which was highly
u n u su al6. Kinsky's arguments were later supported by Friedrich Ernst7, and
instrument 316 was stripped of its claim to having been Bach's instrument, it
seemed, for all time. However, recent research has partially restored the
instrum ent's claim to authenticity.8 It has been show n that its unusual
disposition (upper manual 8', 4'; lower manual 8', 16'), if not original, was at
least arrived at some time early in the instrum ent's history, before 1714, in
which year its presum ed maker, Johann Heinrich Harafi, died. Its original
disposition would m ost likely have been lower manual: 16', 8', 4'; upper
manual 8'; m anual coupler. The instrum ent has also been show n to be so
similar to a surviving harpsichord by the Thuringian harpsichord maker,
Johann Heinrich Harafi (1665 - 1714), that it may be also safely ascribed to that
m aker9. It was perhaps at one time the property of W. F. Bach, even (given its
date, around 1704) derived from Johann Sebastian himself. The case of the
instrum ent is not veneered: like Harafi's other surviving instrum ent, the
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The instrum ent first came to light when Wilhelm Rust, one of the
editors for the Bach-Gesellschaft, described it in I86010, but Rust referred to it
only as being generally representative of a harpsichord, and did not connect
the instrument specifically with J. S. Bach. Rust, however recorded the claim
by its then owner, Graf von Voss of Berlin, that W. F. Bach had visited and
played on it. It was, the claim of a later owner, the Dutch instrument dealer,
Paul de Wit, that the harpsichord was directly connected with Bach, which led
the German musicologist, Philip Spitta, to arrange sale of the instrum ent to
the Berlin Hochschule fu r Musik, for the staggering sum of 10, 000 marks, after
de W it's collection was sold in 189011. During the earlier years of the
twentieth-century harpsichord revival, many German harpsichord makers
copied the unusual disposition of this instrum ent, thereby perpetuating a
peculiar feature of w hat was a unique harpsichord. The instrum ent is
described in detail in the catalogue of the Berlin Museum.12
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159
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160
manual instrument was specially built for Sophie Charlotte, Queen of Prussia
and m other of Frederick William I. The recent appearance of a harpsichord,
in the collection of the Halsinglands Museum in Hudiksvall, Sweden, signed
by Mietke and dated 1710 has corroborated Sheridan Germ ann's attribution of
the SchloB Charlottenberg harpsichords to Mietke, so similar are all three of
them to each other. The H udiksvall instrum ent, w hich like the single
manual Charlottenberg instrument, also has a keyboard range G G /A A - c'", is
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so well preserved that traces of original stringing and plectra rem ain.20 The
instrum ent is intended for brass stringing and its scaling suggests a pitch
standard of around A=409 hz. The fact that two of the surviving harpsichords
by Mietke are single-m anual instrum ents, w ith two registers at 8' pitch,
suggests that singles may have been m ore com m on in Germ any than
doubles; certainly, w ith the exception of the gigue to BWV 806 there is
nothing in the English Suites, for example, which cannot be played on them.
Tohann Heinrich Harafi, Grofibreitenbach (Thuringia):
Only one instrum ent definitely by Harafi survives, now located in the
instrum ent collection of Schlofi Sondershausen, Thuringia. This is a twom anual instrum ent with the disposition: 8', 8', 4', coupler, and a five octave
compass, FF - f'". It is of enormous proportions, being 9' 1"(2.5 m) long.21 The
case of this harpsichord is built from plain pine wood and is undecorated,
w ith o ut any so u n d b o ard rose or o th e r em bellishm ent. U nlike the
instrum ents by Mietke, the harpsichord by Harafi is scaled in the treble for
iron rather than brass, the scantlings basically following the practices of the
Hamburg school of harpsichord making, giving the tone greater presence and
a slower rate of decay than the instrum ents of Mietke. This characteristic is
accentuated by the massive bridges and the enormous num ber of soundboard
ribs present (thirteen in all, com pared to six on the stan d ard French
instrum ent of the time). The tone of the instrum ent is trem endously
powerful and sonorous, in contrast to the Mietkes, which tend (judging from
20 A ndreas Kilstrom, 'T he H udiksvall Mietke", Harpsichord and Fortepiano, Vol I (London,
Oct 1994), pp. 15-19
21 M entioned by Kinsky (1924, 136).
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the copies which have been produced) to be somewhat delicate in sound, due,
in part, to the brass stringing, short treble scale and tall thin bridges. The
Harafi certainly seems to be an ideal instrument for the performance of Bach's
harpsichord concertos, and its brilliant sound is equally well suited to the
grandeur and impressive scale of the English Suites. Its date, between 1710
and 1714 (when the builder died) makes it roughly contemporary with the
English Suites, though its keyboard range is greater than is required for the
performance of many of Bach's works written before the Cothen years.
22 Johann Friedrich Agricola, quoted in The Bach Reader, (N ew York, 1966), p. 259.
23 John Henry van der Meer, "Die Geschichte der Zupfklaviere bis 1800, ein Oberblick"
Kielklaviere, Berlin 1991, p. 25.
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played throughout Germany is also well documented, and it is likely that the
English Suites were often practised, if not perform ed, on that instrum ent.24
However, the evidence of both the manuscript sources and the music itself
points to the harpsichord as the ideal performance medium for these works.
24 Schulenberg 1992, p. 250 cites evidence that the English Suites may have been performed
this w ay later in the eighteenth century.
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164
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170
for violin and harpsichord of J. S. Bach (in Vienna w ith Peter Matzka), the six
English Suites and English Virginal music.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.