Description
Impertinence is a brisk G minor piece with an odd title, built from short motifs that keep coming back, and it is one of Handel's better-known keyboard pieces. It belongs to the Aylesford Pieces, keyboard music drawn from manuscripts once owned by the Earls of Aylesford, where it follows the fugue.
It is in 4/4 and lasts about 50 seconds; with 155 notes, is one of the sparsest of the pieces on this site, just over three notes per second. The two hands have similar numbers of notes, and the left hand has a line of its own against the right-hand melody. This economy of means is what gives it the pert character of its title.
It is rated beginner. With so few notes, the length and release of each one changes the expression a great deal. Slow the playback and use the score view to check where notes are detached and where they are joined. The whole piece is short, so looping it end to end with the A-B loop works well. The range, F2 to B-flat 5, fits on a 61-key keyboard.
A collection of keyboard suites by Handel built mainly around dance movements such as allemandes and gavottes, with lively ornamented melodies and Baroque contrapuntal writing. It suits intermediate-to-advanced players who want to explore Baroque stylistic performance.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
George Frideric Handel was a Baroque composer born in Halle, Germany, who later became a naturalized British citizen. Celebrated for the oratorio Messiah and his Italian-style operas, he also composed many keyboard suites and sonatas. Often mentioned alongside his contemporary Bach, his music is marked by accessible melody and stately grandeur. This site includes suite movements, minuets, and pieces from the Aylesford Pieces.
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