Gavotte

The gavotte is a French dance characterized by leaping movements. Consequently, it is not particularly dramatic; it should proceed with a sense of understated elegance. As you may already know, the left hand often features continuous eighth notes, and playing these eighth notes short and staccato will create a sense of lightness.

Gavotte I

Gavotte I changes key, so please vary the mood, dynamics, and tone quality each time this occurs. It begins in D minor, transitioning to A minor at measure 8. Around measure 15, it may evoke G minor, but it returns to D minor at measure 21. Please vary the atmosphere for the theme (subject) in each key.

Gavotte II

Gavotte II is in D major, but it evokes a fantastical world, and here, one should significantly reduce the dynamics. In this Gavotte II, the tonic D serves as an organ point (pedal point), consistently positioned in the bass, thereby expressing a fantastical world. In the case of Gavotte II, instead of the staccato articulation for the left-hand eighth notes as in Gavotte I, playing the left hand legato can further enhance the atmospheric variation.