Description
A weighty introduction, a singing Andante and a fast fugal section make up this Sinfonia, the opening movement of Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826. Each of Bach's six partitas begins with a movement of a different name and form, Praeludium, Sinfonia, Fantasia, Ouverture, Praeambulum and Toccata, and No. 2 begins with a Sinfonia. It was published on its own in 1727 and included in 1731 in Part I of the Clavier-Übung.
In the introduction dotted rhythms ride on heavy chords; in the Andante a singing right-hand melody is supported by a bass moving at a steady pace; the close is fast, fugal and in triple time. The metre changes from section to section. The range runs from C2 to C#6, and with 1,926 notes in about two minutes fifty it is a large-scale movement.
It is an advanced piece that asks for a different approach in each section: the weight of the chords and the sharpness of the dotted rhythms in the introduction, the ability to sing a long melody in the middle, and independence of the hands and speed in the fugal close. Practise section by section with the A-B loop, slow the playback speed to check the transitions, and follow the exchanges between the hands in the final section through the hand colours.
Suite-form works from the Baroque era; Bach's Partitas, a sequence of varied dances, are ranked among the greatest keyboard works.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was the towering figure of German Baroque music, serving for decades as Cantor of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Renowned for his mastery of counterpoint, he laid the foundations of keyboard music with works such as The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Inventions. This site includes minuets and polonaises from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, the Inventions and Sinfonias, and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier. The Notebook pieces are catalogued with BWV Anh. (appendix) numbers, but many are by other composers - Petzold's minuets among them - or by no one known, and most of their song pages give the current view of who wrote them.
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