Polonaise (after J.S. Bach)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A second piece after J. S. Bach, this one titled polonaise. The polonaise is a march-like dance in triple time of Polish origin, widely written in eighteenth-century Germany as a court style — the prehistory of the dance that Chopin would turn into national expression a century later.
In E major and triple meter: 286 notes, around forty-five seconds. It is placed in the same key as the preceding minuet, so a pupil can compare the characters of the two meters without moving the hand. The writing marks the head of each bar clearly, as a dance should.
A beginner piece. Set beside the minuet, it shows how differently the weight falls in two dances that share a meter. A polonaise plants its first beat firmly and moves forward from there. Do not hurry the ends of phrases; close them while keeping the weight of the beat.
A piano method Clementi published in 1801, comprising 50 lessons that arrange famous Baroque and Classical works for solo piano.
Browse all songs in Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op.42 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome and moved to England while still young, building a career in London as a pianist, composer, and instrument manufacturer. Often called the "father of the pianoforte," he wrote the study collection Gradus ad Parnassum and numerous sonatinas that remain staples of piano pedagogy. This site includes pieces from his Op. 42 tutor, built on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" and melodies by Haydn and Mozart, along with movements from the Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1.
View all works by Clementi →