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Bach, Johann Sebastian : 6 Partiten Nr.4 Menuet

Work Overview

Music ID : 39175
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:menuetto
Total Playing Time:1 min 30 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (1)

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: February 19, 2024
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

The etymology of the word "minuet" itself means "small," and it was known as a dance characterized by small, graceful steps. It is important that it be gentle. Please consider it a gentle and elegant dance, not one that is virtuosic and forward-moving like a gigue.

The highest note in this minuet is the H in the right hand in measure 25; even here, play it elegantly and lightly, without producing an overly harsh sound.

I will describe two commonly observed (or heard) problems:

  • When playing the trill attached to the half note in the first beat of the right hand in measure 4, some performers begin with F-sharp; however, since this trill is attached to E, it should begin on E.
  • Another issue arises in cases like measure 7, where the right hand has triplets and the left hand has a dotted eighth note plus a sixteenth note. While it is preferable for the sixteenth note of the dotted eighth plus sixteenth to be played after the last note of the triplet, some performers play measure 7 in this manner, but then in measures 23-24, they align the sixteenth note with the last note of the triplet.

Personally, I believe it is better to maintain consistency: either align them or displace them.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou