Repertoire › Appendix: Chaconne; Alternative version HWV 435 › What to play next
What to play after Appendix: Chaconne; Alternative version HWV 435 ?
George Frideric Handel · difficulty 50/100

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
Passacaglia Ungherese
György Ligeti
55/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Suite a minor BWV 818a
Johann Sebastian Bach
54/100 +4 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: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue No.9 in E major BWV 854
Johann Sebastian Bach
54/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Suite B flat major HWV 440
George Frideric Handel
53/100 +3 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Suite e minor HWV 438
George Frideric Handel
53/100 +3 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Suite g minor HWV 439
George Frideric Handel
61/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
Fugue b minor HWV 608
George Frideric Handel
60/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
WTC I Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major BWV 862
Johann Sebastian Bach
59/100 +9 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
WTC I Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor BWV 859
Johann Sebastian Bach
59/100 +9 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
Harpsichord Suite in D minor, HWV.436
George Frideric Handel
65/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Passacaglia
Aaron Copland
65/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Appendix: Gigue; Alternative version HWV 438
George Frideric Handel
47/100 -3 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Nuances — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Courante from the Suite E flat major K. 399 (385i)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
50/100 same level 4-6 weeks
new reflexes 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: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Sinfonia No.4 in D minor BWV 790
Johann Sebastian Bach
50/100 same level 3-4 weeks
new reflexes 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: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
3-Part Inventions, BWV.787-801
Johann Sebastian Bach
47/100 -3 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes 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: 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.