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Play — Suite In E Flat Major, Es Dur BWV819: Courante · Pieter-Jan Belder, Arts Music Recording, Rotterdam, Johann Sebastian Bach (the player loads on click)
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MusicCoach difficulty
52/100
Intermediate
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
Two-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 in C minor, T.302
Johann Pachelbel
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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.
Gentle
Suite no. 25 in C major, T.301
Johann Pachelbel
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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 step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
Suite in A minor, BWV.818
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 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
Suite in E flat major, BWV.819
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 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.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Harpsichord Suite in A major, HWV.426
George Frideric Handel
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
English Suite no. 1 in A major, BWV.806
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
high risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Same level
Fugue in C major, BWV.952
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Invention No.13 in A minor BWV 784
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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
23 Magnificat Fugues in the First Tone, T.101-123
Johann Pachelbel
close skills
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
This Courante is marked by a dancing drive and a clear rhythmic pulse, with inner voices passing between the hands to create an elegant, forward-moving character rather than a lyrical calm. Technical challenges include Ornements baroque (4.1/5): you must execute trills and small embellishments with precise timing and small finger impulses so they sit inside the line without disturbing the flow, and Clef reading in the bass (Lecture clé de fa, 3.1/5): the left hand must maintain independent voice-leading, locate low voices quickly and position the hand to provide harmonic support without covering the counterpoint. Firmly in the Baroque period, this Courante is part of Bach’s keyboard suite repertoire and exemplifies the dance forms he used in those suites.