The Overture in the French style, BWV 831, original title Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art, also known as the French Overture and published as the second half of the Clavier-Übung II in 1735 (paired with the Italian Concerto), is a suite in B minor for a two-manual harpsichord written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
An earlier version of this work exists, in the key of C minor (BWV 831a); the work was transposed into B minor to complete the cycle of tonalities in Parts One and Two of the Clavier-Übung.[citation needed] The keys of the six Partitas (B♭ major, C minor, A minor, D major, G major, E minor) of Clavier-Übung I form a sequence of intervals going up and then down by increasing amounts: a second up (B♭ to C), a third down (C to A), a fourth up (A to D), a fifth down (D to G), and finally a sixth up (G to E).[1] The key sequence continues into Clavier-Übung II (1735) with two larger works: the Italian Concerto, a seventh down (E to F), and the French Overture, an augmented fourth up (F to B♮). Thus this sequence of customary tonalities for 18th-century keyboard compositions is complete, extending from the first letter of his name (Bach's "home" key, B♭, in German is B) to the last letter of his name (B♮ in German is H).
Terminology and structureedit
The term overture refers to the fact that this suite starts with an overture movement, and was a common generic name for French suites (his orchestral suites were similarly named). This "overture" movement replaces the allemande found in Bach's other keyboard suites. Also, there are optional dance movements both before and after the Sarabande. In Bach's work optional movements usually occur only after the sarabande. All three of the optional dance movements are presented in pairs, with the first one repeated after the second, but without the internal repeats. Also unusual for Bach is the inclusion of an extra movement after the Gigue. This is an "echo", a piece meant to exploit the terraced loud and soft dynamics of the two-manual harpsichord. Other movements also have dynamic indications (piano and forte), which are not often found in keyboard suites of the Baroque period, and indicate here the use of the two keyboards of the harpsichord. With eleven movements, the French Overture is the longest keyboard suite ever composed by Bach. It usually has a duration of around 30 minutes if all the repeats in every movement are taken.
overture, french, style, musical, form, french, overture, original, title, ouvertüre, nach, französischer, also, known, french, overture, published, second, half, clavier, übung, 1735, paired, with, italian, concerto, suite, minor, manual, harpsichord, written. For the musical form see French overture The Overture in the French style BWV 831 original title Ouverture nach Franzosischer Art also known as the French Overture and published as the second half of the Clavier Ubung II in 1735 paired with the Italian Concerto is a suite in B minor for a two manual harpsichord written by Johann Sebastian Bach Contents 1 Composition 2 Terminology and structure 3 Movements 4 Style 5 Notes and references 6 External linksComposition editAn earlier version of this work exists in the key of C minor BWV 831a the work was transposed into B minor to complete the cycle of tonalities in Parts One and Two of the Clavier Ubung citation needed The keys of the six Partitas B major C minor A minor D major G major E minor of Clavier Ubung I form a sequence of intervals going up and then down by increasing amounts a second up B to C a third down C to A a fourth up A to D a fifth down D to G and finally a sixth up G to E 1 The key sequence continues into Clavier Ubung II 1735 with two larger works the Italian Concerto a seventh down E to F and the French Overture an augmented fourth up F to B Thus this sequence of customary tonalities for 18th century keyboard compositions is complete extending from the first letter of his name Bach s home key B in German is B to the last letter of his name B in German is H Terminology and structure editThe term overture refers to the fact that this suite starts with an overture movement and was a common generic name for French suites his orchestral suites were similarly named This overture movement replaces the allemande found in Bach s other keyboard suites Also there are optional dance movements both before and after the Sarabande In Bach s work optional movements usually occur only after the sarabande All three of the optional dance movements are presented in pairs with the first one repeated after the second but without the internal repeats Also unusual for Bach is the inclusion of an extra movement after the Gigue This is an echo a piece meant to exploit the terraced loud and soft dynamics of the two manual harpsichord Other movements also have dynamic indications piano and forte which are not often found in keyboard suites of the Baroque period and indicate here the use of the two keyboards of the harpsichord With eleven movements the French Overture is the longest keyboard suite ever composed by Bach It usually has a duration of around 30 minutes if all the repeats in every movement are taken Movements editOverture Courante Gavotte I II Passepied I II Sarabande Bourree I II Gigue EchoStyle editThe style of this work is similar to that of composers like Jean Baptiste Lully and Francois Couperin but it also bears similarities with German composers like Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer and Georg Philipp Telemann Such suites with an introducing overture were normally composed for orchestral settings but rarely for solo instruments 2 Notes and references edit Tomita Yo 2002 J S Bach The Six Partitas Retrieved 31 October 2015 Bach s Clavier Ubungen in facsimiles Retrieved 28 November 2017 External links editFrench Overture Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Recording by pianist Iddo Bar Shai archived on the Wayback Machine nbsp This article about a classical composition is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Overture in the French style BWV 831 amp oldid 1089294790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
