Bach – French Suites BWV 812-817 Book

Johann Sebastian Bach – French Suites BWV 812-817 Book

Urtext Edition

Johann Sebastian Bach’s three great cycles of suites belong to the fundamental canon of piano literature: the Partitas and the so-called English and French Suites. It is the French Suites that have long been by far the most popular and this was also the case at the time that they were written. However, this also creates problems for an editor preparing an Urtext edition, because a vast number of copies of them were made by Bach’s circle of pupils, and these contain many presumably authentic variants.

In this revised Henle Urtext edition, Ullrich Scheideler explains the complicated source situation with exemplary clarity. He lists the more minor source variants in footnotes; where there are major differences, both versions of individual movements are printed in full. Our opulent volume is rounded off with an appendix offering alternative and additional pieces. This Henle Urtext edition has been completely revised, and also offers new fingerings. It enables pianists and Bach enthusiasts alike to re-discover Bach’s universe for themselves. 107 pages

Song Titles Include:

• French Suite d minor BWV 812
• French Suite c minor BWV 813
• French Suite b minor BWV 814
• French Suite E flat major BWV 815
• French Suite G major BWV 816
• French Suite E major BWV 817

AMEB:

Piano / Associate / List A

• French suite No. 5 in G major BWV 816

Piano / Certificate of Performance / List B

• French Suite [No. 3] in B minor BWV 814

Piano / Grade 3 / List A

• Polonaise 5th movement from French Suite in E major BWV 817

Piano / Grade 6 / List A

• Courante 2nd movement from French Suite No. 2 in C minor BWV 813
• Gigue 6th movement from French Suite No. 3 in B minor BWV 814

Piano / Grade 8 / List A

• Gigue 7th movement from ‘French’ suite No. 5 in G major BWV 816

Piano for Leisure / Grade 5 / Open Manual list

• Gavotte 4th movement from French Suite in Eb major BWV 815

Piano for Leisure / Grade 6 / Open Manual list

• Gigue 8th movement from French Suite in E major BWV 817
• Minuet and Trio 4th movement from French Suite in B minor BWV 814

Piano for Leisure / Grade 7 / Open Manual list

• Allemande 1st movement from French Suite in D minor BWV 812

Johann Sebastian Bach

For many musicians he is the Alpha and Omega of all music (Max Reger). Except for operas, Bach composed masterpieces for every ensemble and genre of his age. His catalogue of works contains almost 1,100 entries, including the great Passions of St. Matthew and St. Johan, the Goldberg Variations, the Brandenburg Concerti, or hundreds of singular cantatas. As organist in Muhlhausen and Weimar he creates primarily organ compositions, concerti, and works of chamber music. Later, as music director in Kothen and for the decades he serves as cantor in Leipzig, he composes chiefly sacred vocal compositions and keyboard works. His later, contrapuntally complex compositions exert an enormous influence on the compositional styles and practices of later generations.