Bach- Partita No. 4 in D, BWV 828: Sarabande and Gigue Flashcards
What is the background (more like Bach-ground amirite??) of Sarabande and Gigue?
They are two movements from a suite (or partita) which is a series of dances, usually in the same key. It was composed in 1728, which is the late Baroque era,
Which era is Sarabande and Gigue from?
Late Baroque
What was Sarabande and Gigue intended for?
Domestic performance on harpsichord
By the composition of Sarabande and Gigue in 1728, the dances were often stylised. What did this mean?
It meant that the original dance elements were weakened as composers allowed their musical invention to operate freely.
What is the metre of the Sarabande?
A slow, triple-time: 3/4
In the Sarabande, which beat of the bar is emphasised, and how?
Either by length or accentuation.
When is the Sarabande’s trait of a second beat emphasis only obvious?
Bars: 1-2, 14 and 29-30.
Asides from when the second beat emphasis is obvious, what kind of movement does Bach use in Sarabande?
Elsewhere, Bach uses dance-like semiquaver and demisemiquaver movement.
Gigues were traditionally in compound time, though the number of beats per bar were not firmly fixed. In this case, what is the metre?
Triple time: 9/16
What happens in the Gigue in terms of movement?
There is an almost continuous semiquaver movement, with longer (dotted quaver) chords.
In the Sarabande, the melody line is continually evolved from a basic motif. What is this process known as?
Fortspinnung
What does Fortspinnung (having the melody line continually evolved from a basic motif) involve?
Repetition, Sequence, Variation of intervals and Rhythmic variation
How does the Gigue open melodically?
With a broken-chord pattern
What happens in the Gigue after its opening broken-chord pattern?
This then gives way to more conjunct movement
Is there any chromaticism in Sarabande and Gigue?
Occasional chromaticism features in both dances.
The harmony in Sarabande and Gigue is functional, and Bach uses many harmonic devices throughout. Give an example of where he uses a Dominant 7th.
Sarabande: Bar 8
The harmony in Sarabande and Gigue is functional, and Bach uses many harmonic devices throughout. Give an example of where he uses a secondary 7th.
Sarabande: Bar 1, beat 2
The harmony in Sarabande and Gigue is functional, and Bach uses many harmonic devices throughout. Give an example of where he uses a diminished 7th in both.
Sarabande: bar 12, Gigue: bar 45
The harmony in Sarabande and Gigue is functional, and Bach uses many harmonic devices throughout. Give an example of where he uses a neapolitan 6th.
Sarabande: bar 23
The harmony in Sarabande and Gigue is functional, and Bach uses many harmonic devices throughout. Give an example of where he uses a suspension.
Gigue: bar 78, 4-8 suspension
What is the tonality of both Sarabande and Gigue?
D major
How is the tonality of both Sarabande and Gigue clearly defined?
Through cadences and modulations to related keys, e.g. A major at bar 12 and E minor at bar 24 of the Sarabande.
What is the structure of both Sarabande and Gigue?
Binary with repeats
What does both Sarabande and Gigue do tonally and texturally?
In both, the first sections finish in the dominant key, and then return to the tonic through a variety of related keys in the second section.
What is unusual about the second section of the Gigue?
It is the same length as the first; in most binary form movements, the second section is longer.
What does it mean for Sarabande and Gigue that they were written for harpsichord?
They were intended for an instrument with a smaller dynamic range and less sustaining power than the modern piano.
The Sarabande features a variety of textures. Where is it homophonic?
Bar 1
The Sarabande features a variety of textures. Where is it monophonic?
Bar 2
The Sarabande features a variety of textures. Where is it two part, with a steadily moving quaver bass supporting the more rhythmically involved upper part?
Bars 15-28
The Sarabande features a variety of textures. Where does it have free-voiced texture, that is, a passage with varying numbers of part?
bars 11-12
The Gigue opens fugally. What does this mean?
It opens with each part entering imitavively
How does the second section of the Gigue open?
It opens with a new melody line which becomes a countersubject to the original subject when it returns in bar 55.
