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Play — Bach: Keyboard Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828: V. Sarabande · Johann Sebastian Bach, Alexis Weissenberg (the player loads on click)
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MusicCoach difficulty
75/100
Advanced
Level of the complete work
We have no level specific to this movement. The figure above is that of the complete work: within a cycle, movements often differ widely in demand.
Estimated skills
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
What to play next?
Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
Gentle step
The safest next step.
Gentle
Suite, for harpsichord in A, TWV. 32:14
Georg Philipp Telemann
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Partita in F major, Hob.XVIIa:2
Franz Joseph Haydn
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Analyse harmonique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Partita no. 2 in C minor, BWV.826
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Chaconne in G major, HWV.435
George Frideric Handel
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV.903
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Croisements de mains and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Partita no. 6 in E minor, BWV.830
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains and Style baroque — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Same level
Ordre 1 in G minor or G
François Couperin
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Toccata and fugue in D minor, BWV.565
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Fugue no. 14 en Fa Dièse Mineur, BWV.883
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Voix chantante — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
This Sarabande requires an inward calm and measured nobility: phrases breathe and the silences between notes matter, so the melodic line needs a singing, sculpted touch rather than mere slowness. You will need to pay special attention to Ornements baroque (4.1/5) — executing ornaments with precise rhythmic placement and detached articulation without breaking phrase continuity — and to Lecture clé de fa (3.1/5), since the left hand often carries the bass or an independent inner voice that demands confident bass-clef reading and exact finger placement to shape the counterpoint. As a Baroque piece, the Sarabande belongs to Bach’s set of partitas for keyboard and exemplifies his contrapuntal craft and expressive subtlety within that cycle. I do not give a performance recommendation here because I am not certain I can cite a definitive recording for this specific movement.