Autograph manuscript 1725 Allegro BWV1019a Corrente BWV830

The Partita for keyboard No. 6 in E minor,

BWV The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...

830, is a suite of seven movements written for the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. It was published in 1731 both as a separate work and as part of Bach's ''Clavier-Übung'' I.

History

Prior to publication, two movements of BWV 830 formed part of the first version of the sixth sonata in E minor for obbligato harpsichord and violin, BWV 1019: the Corrente as a harpsichord solo; and the Tempo di gavotta as a duo for violin and harpsichord. The surviving manuscript, largely written by Bach's nephew Johann Heinrich Bach, has been dated to 1725; the harpsichord parts for these two movements were written by Bach himself. BWV 830 is the last suite in Bach's ''Clavier-Übung'' I, the first music published by Bach within his lifetime. The partitas were initially published separately, starting in 1726; the title page of the collection of six, published together in 1731, carries the designation "Opus 1".

Musical structure

This

partita Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') closely resemble the dance suites of the Baroque music, Baroque Period (and are often used synonymously with Suite (music), suites) with the addition of a prelude movement at the ...

consists of seven

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

all in

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...

Reception and legacy

David Schulenberg describes this partita: "The Sixth Partita is the crowning work of the set and Bach's greatest suite. The allemande and sarabande contain some of the most audacious and dramatic melodic embellishment ever written, and the work opens and closes with two particularly ambitious contrapuntal movements." Peter Williams, however, considers that some movements from ''Clavier-Übung'' I that were composed earlier than others, such as the Gigue from BWV 830, have a "grinding quality that is totally absent from the elegant and novel No. 1." says about Sarabande in his notes in the booklet to his recording of partitas: "As for the following Sarabande, it plunges us into deep reflection. It is a pure lamento and perhaps the most intensely expressive piece in all of Bach's works for harpsichord." American composer

George Rochberg George Rochberg (July 5, 1918May 29, 2005) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serialism, serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the technique after his teenage son died in 1964, saying it had proved inadequate to expres ...

fantasia Fantasia may refer to: Film and television * ''Fantasia'' (1940 film), an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney ** '' Fantasia 2000'', a sequel to the 1940 film * ''Fantasia'' (2004 film), a Hong Kong comedy film * ''Fantasia'' (201 ...

Nach Bach ''Nach Bach'' (German for "After Bach", subtitled ''Fantasia for harpsichord''), is a composition for harpsichord or piano by American composer George Rochberg, written in 1966 and dedicated to his friend Igor Kipnis, who premièred the work in Ann ...

'' contains direct musical quotations from this partita.

Notes

References

Selected published editions * (contains detailed preface by Engler) * (contains detailed preface by Jones together with facsimiles of publications 1726–1731) Books and journal articles *
* * * *

External links

* * ,

Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia ( ; born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He has been considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. ...

Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions for harpsichord 1731 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub