Bach Inventions and Suites

[squinchy]

Last fall, my teacher gave me a book with a collection of Bach's suites and partitas, along with some transcribed violin and cello music (which surprised me). It doesn't have any complete suites-it has the 'favorite' ones.

So now, I'm struggling through a Sarabande from the fifth English Suite. I don't know how to deal with the 3 and sometimes 4 voices-I don't even know how to pick the voices out. I memorized the Passapied from the same suite last week-I can do that and other pieces written in two voices quite easily.

Should I have done the 2 and 3 part inventions before any suite related stuff? I remember that my teacher intended to start me on the 2 part inventions after I finished the Anna Magdelena notebook, but I think she forgot and then suddenly overestimated my ability.

Squinchy

[bernhard]

Get some music paper (or even better: a notation software) and rewrite the Sarabande in four staves, one for each voice. You will notice that although there are four voices, one of them is almost not there, appearing only in a few bars.

Now you must take your time working on each of these voices, and working out the fingering and which hand will play which voices Once you figure this out, write the fingering in each note, on each voice.

Now learn each voice separately (but using the fingering that you will be using when joining everything together). Not only this will simplify matters greatly, as it will allow you to hear each melodic line (and memorise the sound of it) separately.

Once each voice has become second nature for you to both listen and play, work on each hand separately. And once you can do each hand perfectly, move on to learn hands together. Do not worry about bringing any of the melodic lines to the front. They are all equally important. Also, you must think in terms of motifs and motif variations (in this Sarabande the main motif are the first 13 notes on the top voice). Take your time analysing this piece.

Finally, a Sarabande is a dance. So investigate what sort of dance it is. Could this piece be used to accompany dancers? According to some scholars, Bach actually intended his dances to be used as such.

Have a look here to see a discussion on how to learn /practice a two voice invention:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=teac;action=display;num=1081198385;start=4


And here to see how to learn and practice an Allemande from a French suite:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1084678191;start=0


Much that is discussed in these threads can be applied to the Sarabande.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.