Bach composed six "French Suites." Bach himself titled them "Suites for Clavier," and the person who coined the name "French Suites" is unknown. It is likely that they came to be called this due to their elegant, approachable, and refined musical style, incorporating a French sensibility. The exact composition date is also unclear, but it is estimated to be around 1722. This is because five pieces from the French Suites, Nos. 1-5, are included in the "Clavierbüchlein" (1722), a collection of pieces Bach first presented to his second wife, Anna Magdalena, whom he married in 1721 after the death of his first wife.

Each suite is composed of several dance movements, typically starting with an Allemande, followed by a Courante, a Sarabande, and concluding with a Gigue. These four dance movements form the classical standard form of the keyboard suite established in the late 17th century. Following the custom of the time, Bach employed typical melodic figures and idioms from the beginning of each piece, making these dances immediately recognizable.

The Allemande, a French word meaning "German," is in 4/4 time and begins on an upbeat. It is a dance that proceeds calmly, steadily, and without interruption. The Courante is a lively dance at a somewhat fast tempo; in the French style, it is in 3/2 or 6/4 time, and in the Italian style, it is in 3/4 or 3/8 time. The Sarabande is a triple-meter dance of Spanish origin, where two consecutive measures form a single unit. It proceeds with solemnity and gravity. The Gigue is a light and fast dance originating from England. Its original time signature is typically 3/8, 6/8, or 12/8, but Bach sometimes notated it in 4/4 time, dividing each beat into triplets.

While the sequence of dances, A-C-S-G, was standard in Bach's time, various "modern dances" were permitted to be inserted between the Sarabande and the Gigue. Representative examples include:

• Air
• Minuet
• Gavotte
• Bourrée

The Air, equivalent to the Italian "aria," is a song-like musical form. Therefore, the Air is not inherently a dance but an instrumental piece often inserted into dance suites. The Minuet is an elegant and graceful dance that originated in France and became popular in high society. It is in a moderate 3/4 time and was later adopted by Haydn in his symphonies. Furthermore, it is usually outwardly divided into two parts, and including repetitions, it takes the form of Minuet-Trio-Minuet da capo (the middle section is called "Trio" because, in court dances, an obbligato instrument was used in the middle section to create a trio texture, adding variety to the sound. In keyboard suites, it is not necessarily written for three voices). The Gavotte is also a bright and lively dance that originated in France and became popular in high society. It is typically in 4/4 time and begins on the third beat. The Bourrée, appearing in No. 5, is a light two-beat dance of French origin, particularly favored in court dances.

Among the six French Suites, the first three are in minor keys, and the latter three are in major keys, with each suite maintaining tonal unity.

French Suite No. 5

French Suite No. 5 can be considered one of the pinnacles of Bach's suite compositions. In almost all movements, the concluding forms of the first and second halves are unified (M. Geck refers to this as "rhyme"). This makes the impression of each movement distinct and sharpens the contrast between movements. Despite each movement being relatively long and the suite being the largest among the six, it never feels redundant.

The opening movement, Allemande, exhibits a typical motet-like character. This term refers to a texture where the number of voices is not fixed, but motives develop freely within a rich, full sound. Bach often employed this type of writing in his Preludes, Fantasias, and also in Allemandes. In the Allemande of No. 5, the number of voices fluctuates significantly, with many sections featuring only two voices, yet the effect of pedal points creates a sense of layering and perspective beyond the actual number of voices. It is one of Bach's greatest masterpieces for keyboard, as the performance effect varies greatly depending on how the performer treats each motive, offering new discoveries and surprises with every listen.

The Courante is dominated by a very fast tempo and a scurrying, vibrant energy. Range and pedal points are used effectively, and even after a single listen, the figure of running passages expanding and then converging forms a clear image. The final notes of both the first and second halves are single tones, their abruptness even humorous.

The Sarabande is an extremely expressive aria. Three voices are strictly maintained, but the middle and left-hand voices gently follow the monologue of the right-hand upper voice.

The inserted dance Loure in the sixth movement was originally a theatrical, virtuosic dance that, despite its slow tempo, included large turns and complex steps. In instrumental music, it retains these characteristics, employing syncopation, hemiola, and an anacrusis pattern of eighth-note-quarter-note. Such complex rhythms also appear throughout the Gavotte in the fourth movement of No. 5.

The Gigue is also a typical final movement of a suite. While continuously moving without pause, the imitative subject with its unique rhythm is never lost. As a three-voice fugue, it is relatively simple in construction, maintaining mostly a two-voice texture throughout, but suddenly returns to three voices at the conclusion, with five notes sounding simultaneously in the final chord. This is a magnificent and decisive ending, befitting the conclusion of this lengthy and elegant suite.