5. Rigaudon

As explanations regarding the Rigaudon are scarce, I will provide some supplementary information here. The Rigaudon is a duple-meter dance. In addition to meanings like "to draw a circle" or "to turn," there is a theory that its name comes from an Italian word meaning "joy" or "pleasure." Another theory suggests it was named after Rigaud, a dance master who lived in the 17th century.

The opening indication is "Allegro con brio," which is fine. However, the score I am using has a metronome marking of half note = 144. I believe this is almost impossible, so there is no need to adhere to it. A sense of speed and lightness, felt in two beats per measure, should suffice.

Furthermore, for this piece, it is crucial to absolutely "not stop" the music. Maintain an accurate pulse, close to a metronome, and avoid wasting time in unnecessary places. There are only two tempo indications in the entire piece: "un poco ritard" between measures 38-39 and "ritardando" between measures 73-74.

In all other places, proceed steadily without slowing down the tempo. The same applies to the Trio in the B section.

Now, if you adhere to the aforementioned tempo, lightness, and sense of duple meter, there is nothing particularly noteworthy to add. I have three suggestions, which you may find helpful:

• At measures 22 and 26, the D in the left hand and the D in the right hand overlap. It is advisable to play the D with the left hand and start the right hand from the D an octave higher.
• The second point concerns the octaves between measures 37-38. Although the dynamic marking is FF, which might tempt one to play them very loudly, avoid playing them like Lisztian octaves; instead, play these octaves lightly, without raising the volume excessively.
• The third point is the trill in measure 39. I have also tried it, and I believe that 4-5-4 fingering for this right-hand trill would be appropriate. With 3-4-3, the finger span becomes a bit too wide (as there are F# and C below). Therefore, when using 4-5-4 to play these three notes (A-B-A), the difficulty varies depending on whether you align the first A with the left-hand bass D or the third A with the left-hand D. The easier approach is to align the third A with the left hand. If you align it with the first A, finger independence will be required. And ensure that all three notes are clearly audible.