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 E, HWV.430, "The Harmonious Blacksmith"
George Frideric Handel
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (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.
Gentle
French Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV.815
Johann Sebastian Bach
close skills
low risk
to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (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 step
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
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.
Balanced
Partita in F major, Hob.XVIIa:2
Franz Joseph Haydn
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: Analyse harmonique and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Ambitious challenge
A useful leap with guided practice.
Challenge
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, Wq.119, no. 7
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
partial transfer
high 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: 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.
Challenge
English Suite no. 3 in G minor, BWV.808
Johann Sebastian Bach
partial transfer
high 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.
Same level
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.
Same level
Sinfonia No.9 in F minor BWV 795
Johann Sebastian 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: 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
Rondo in E major, H.265, Wq.57, no. 1
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
partial transfer
low risk
to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ce Menuet alterné déroule une alternance vive et mordante entre rusticité dansants et passages plus retenus, avec des accents courts et des silences qui découpent le flux ; il faut viser une articulation claire pour garder ce caractère contrasté. Technicalement, attention particulière aux Ornements baroque (4.1/5) — il faudra exécuter agréments et mordants précis et rapides avec contrôle du doigté et de la durée — et à la Connaissance des formes (4.1/5), car comprendre la structure binaire et les reprises guide les choix d’articulation et de respiration pour chaque reprise. L’œuvre appartient à la période classique mais conserve un fort héritage baroque dans le langage stylistique et la forme de suite propre à C. P. E. Bach.