Repertoire › Musick's Handmaid › What to play next
What to play after Musick's Handmaid ?
Henry Purcell · difficulty 45/100

Choose your level of commitment: consolidate, move up a tier or prepare a challenge. The top-ranked cards combine difficulty, risk, shared skills and confidence.

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Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Canzona in D minor
Girolamo Frescobaldi
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Lecture avec altérations accidentelles and Style baroque — reading the score is itself an obstacle before technique: budget time for plain reading.
Gentle
Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BWV.626
Johann Sebastian Bach
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
A New Ground in E minor, Z.682
Henry Purcell
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in 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.
Gentle
Canzona Secunda a basso solo
Girolamo Frescobaldi
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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
Fugue no. 12 en Fa Mineur, BWV.881
Johann Sebastian Bach
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Ricercare in F sharp minor, T.293
Johann Pachelbel
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in 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
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV.659a
Johann Sebastian Bach
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in 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
Ouverture in F major, BWV.820
Johann Sebastian Bach
54/100 +9 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Ornements baroque and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonata in A minor, K.54, L.241
Domenico Scarlatti
63/100 +18 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
French Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV.815
Johann Sebastian Bach
61/100 +16 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à deux voix — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Fugue no. 15 en Sol Majeur, BWV.884
Johann Sebastian Bach
60/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: 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

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
A New Irish Tune in G major, Z.646, "Lilliburlero"
Henry Purcell
45/100 same level 3-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Sonata in D minor, K.1, L.366
Domenico Scarlatti
43/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Passages rapides — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Verse in F major, Z.716
Henry Purcell
43/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.
Progressions computed from difficulty, skill overlap and style between works. A What do we play next? recommendation should remain a pedagogical starting point, not an automatic prescription.