MusicCoach difficulty
70/100
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
Style
Classical style
1
Tone
Touch control
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
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
Harpsichord Suite in D minor, HWV.436
George Frideric Handel
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: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Harpsichord Suite in D minor, HWV.437
George Frideric Handel
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: Indépendance des mains and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
Balanced
French Suite no. 6 in E major, BWV.817
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
A real step up: this piece 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.
Balanced
Keyboard Suite in E minor, H.66, Wq.62, no. 12
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
close skills
moderate risk
fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 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
English Suite no. 3 in G minor, BWV.808
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
moderate risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 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.
Challenge
Suite, op. 5
Maurice Duruflé
close skills
moderate risk
to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Same level
Fugue in G minor, K.401
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Fugue a2 in D minor, for clavichord, H.99, Wq.119, no. 2
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à deux voix — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Variations on an Arietta,H.155, Wq.118, no. 2
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Analyse harmonique and Ornements romantiques — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
This Sarabande presents a restrained, solemn character with broad phrases and suspended harmonies that require sustaining the line while allowing space at phrase endings; it favors economical rhythm and expressive ornamentation rather than showy virtuosity. Two technical points stand out: Ornaments baroque (4.1/5), which here involves very short appoggiaturas and cadential figures requiring a controlled attack and clear resolution, and Knowledge of forms (Connaissance des formes) (4.1/5), which requires mapping repeats and harmonic arcs to shape dynamics and linkage; these physical gestures are essential for polyphonic clarity and phrase logic. Dating from a transitional moment between the Baroque and Classical eras, this piece exemplifies C.P.E. Bach's blend of inherited ornament practice with the emerging empfindsamer style's expressive needs.