English Continuations

The English Suites are one of the three groups of six continuations for the Clavecin composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (beside the French Suites and of the Partitas for keyboard called also German Suites ).

Their composition goes up at the latest at the years 1720 - 1724 (with Köthen).

The title, which is not Bach ready with confusion: indeed these continuations are, in their structure, nothing less than the French continuations. They are distinguished from the French Suites by a difficulty of higher execution, a great homogeneity of structure and the presence, at the beginning of each one of them, of large a Prélude (that these last do not have).

Among the assumptions evoked as for the origin of this name:

  • they could be dedicated to a not identified English personality (paid by Forkel, the first biographer of Bach); a specimen pertaining to Johann Christian Bach is marked “made for the English”;
  • they could also be close to the cycle of made up continuations towards 1701 by the French musician installed with London, Charles Dieupart, whose Bach knew the existence: it had copied the N°1 continuations and 6.

The probability of this second assumption is reinforced by the fact that one finds, in the prelude of the English continuation in major topic very close to that of the Gigue in the major one of Dieupart. This topic is in addition identical to that of a gigue in the major one of Gaspard the Russet-red, published in 1705.

The six continuations are of the same structure: Prelude - German - Current - Saraband - “galanteries” - Gigue. The “galanteries” are two French dances with the standard mode in the same way: Faggot, Gavotte, Minuet or Passepied. The tonalities seem to answer a preoccupation with a logical progression: downward, major followed of two minor.

English continuations, BWV 806 with BWV 811

  • N° 1 in the major one, BWV 806
  • N° 2 in the minor, BWV 807
  • N° 3 in minor ground, BWV 808
  • N° 4 in major F, BWV 809
  • N° 5 as a semi minor, BWV 810
  • N° 6 in minor D, BWV 811

External bonds

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