Description
A D minor polonaise of only 165 notes that nonetheless ranges across four octaves. Its source is the 1725 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. The Anh. in its catalogue number shows that it is not accepted as Bach's own, and its composer is unknown. The notebook holds several polonaises, a sign that Polish-style dances were popular in the home at the time.
In D minor and 3/4, it is a short dance with a calm minor-key expression in the polonaise's triple-time tread. It lasts 47 seconds, and its range, D2 to D6, fits on a 61-key keyboard.
Rated intermediate. There are few notes, but the wide range makes shifting the right hand a challenge. It also matters to keep the first beat from growing too heavy while holding the polonaise's stately step. Lower the playback speed to check where the hands shift, and repeat short phrases with the A-B loop. Watching both hands with the hand colours, it is also worth comparing it with the F major and G minor polonaises from the same notebook.
The polonaise, a stately Polish triple-time dance, including Chopin's grand works marked by a proud, march-like rhythm.
Browse all songs in Polonaises →Sheet Music
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.
View all works by Bach →