Gavotta (after Handel)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A gavotte after Handel. Clementi's Op. 42 also contains two gavottes after Corelli, and setting the same dance in different composers' hands lets a pupil hear the difference between their idioms.
In B-flat major and cut time: 710 notes and around a minute and fifty seconds, which makes it one of the longer pieces here. The gavotte proper is stated and then followed by an ornamented variation; the frame of the beat does not change as the notes multiply. The density is not there for display but to show how the same dance may be decorated.
A beginner piece. Its length invites the tempo to drift, and holding the variation at the speed of the main section is the first task. The temptation is to slow down as the notes get smaller, so set the tempo from the busiest passage and the whole will match.
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 →