Johann Sebastian Bach Analysis

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Johann Sebastian Bach, born in 1685 in Germany, composed over 1100 musical works ranging from orchestral and chamber music to vocal and choral works. Although he was not appreciated during his life-time, he thoroughly enriched the sounds of his native country’s music as well as artists and composers after him. His keyboard masterpieces include The Well- Tempered Clavier, Inventions and Sinfonias, and three collections of dance suites: the English Suites, the French Suites, and the Partitas for keyboard. The three collections of suites are among the most prestigious piano pieces. Musicians and musicologists have debated the name of these three keyboard works for years. The authenticity of the works’ titles is the initial controversy. There is no proof of Bach giving the suites or partias specific names. He simply called them, “Six Suites for Harpsichord”, “Six …show more content…

The galant movement strove to return to simplicity and immediate gratification after the harsh complexities and overcomplications of the late Baroque era. This required a more straight-forward melody. J. S. Bach chose to focus on this singing melody throughout the entirety of the French Suites. In order to achieve this, he carefully avoids the use of technically complex figuration and thick texture. This can even be seen in the sarabandes, which are traditionally homophonic movements. The reduced usage of contrapuntal writing is also evident in the allemandes, which, with the absence of preludes, assume an introductory role. The courantes appear in two different types: slow and deliberate French (nos. 1 and 3) and lively Italian corrente (nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6). Also worth noting are the varieties shown in the gigues of first half: grand French overture (no.1), blissful French canarie (no.2), and smoothly-flowing Italian giga (no.3). These features further facilitate Bach’s attempt and success of the galant

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