Gaspard de Gueidan playing the musette de cour, painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1738, Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France, photo in Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
This bold, lively and vigorous piece, containing many areas of contrast, will engage the player. Jane Magrath in her book “The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature” states that the piece provides opportunity for work on contraction and expansion of the hand at the elementary level. She states that the quick shifts in hand position must be executed precisely in tempo.
According to my records, this piece has also been in the ABRSM piano syllabus in 1955 and 2005 -2006.
What is the story the player wishes to convey to the listener?
This bold and vigorous piece should encourage the imagination in the player. It can be thought of in many ways. In one way the player could imagine that there is an ensemble of a few instruments accompanying some dancers. The octave patterns in the LH could be the musette, a type of bagpipe playing and in bars 3 – 4 and others that use similar material; a different instrument is playing, such as the violin. The RH in the first section in bars 1 – 2 and in other areas with similar material, a clarinet or a trumpet could play this. In the middle section, there could be two different instruments playing in the RH. There is a kind of ‘question and answer’ situation occurring in bars 13 – 16. The player could imagine what kind of dance steps accompanies each rhythmic pattern in the piece.
Also, the player could consider thinking of it as a game of hide and seek between three people. Bars 1 – 2 represent the person who will be looking and bars 3 – 4 represent those who will be hiding. In bars 3 – 4 the players are talking between themselves rather quietly and secretly. In the second section this could represent the person looking and here this person is trying to find the others in different places. By the end of the section, those who have been in hiding have been found. During the final section the players are setting up another game of hide and seek.
What is the structure of the music?
This piece is in ternary form, with the third section being a repeat of the first section. The middle section is in the key of A major, D major’s dominant key. It returns to D major at the start of the third section.
It would be advisable for the player to photocopy the music and play from this copy when playing the third section. This is because the dynamics will need to be different to those that were played in the first section.
Main part of the music
Each section will need to have its own climax however there should be a main one overall. This should occur at the end of the music at the beginning of the final bar at f level.
Phrasing
The phrases in the first and last sections are clear-cut with each phrase being four bars long. There are two phrases in each of these two sections. The middle section interestingly contains three phrases containing four bars each. The middle phrases of these three provides a contrast to the first and third phrases and this provides this section with cohesiveness. The phrases in this section move from one another more seamlessly than between the two phrases in the first and last sections.
Metronome mark, time signature and rhythm
It may be advisable for the player to play a little faster than the suggested metronome indication on the music. A speed of crotchet = 80 would be appropriate. There are many recordings available for this piece and one will find that there is a great variation in the metronome speeds on these. The suggested tempo above provides the vitality and energy that the music requires without the music losing its grandeur and majestic character. If played too fast, the music becomes lighter and to a certain extent, a little trivial sounding.
Since the piece is written in duple time, this provides the music with more accentuation that if it would have been written in quadruple time.
Some players may find the semiquaver patterns difficult in regards to maintaining evenness when playing them. Using the time names whilst playing them along with strong, energetic and well-curved fingers will ensure that evenness is achieved.
Unexpected moments
The use of syncopation is exciting and dramatic and when used, it changes the character of the piece.
Beginning and ending
This piece should being with vigour and determination. Before commencing, the player should think through the first two bars and the counting of two beats in their head should follow this. The player should use a downward movement of the shoulder when playing the first notes.
And, the ending of this piece is similar to the beginning. A slight easing of the tempo is appropriate. The loudest dynamics for the whole piece should be played at the beginning of the last bar at an f dynamic. The player should wait on the last notes for an extra beat however they should not wait too long because the hands should be lifted whilst the sound is still reasonably loud. When lifting off the hands at the end of the piece, the player should lift their hands with a definite gesture and the fingers should stay in contact with the keys whilst the hands are lifting. Then the hands should be placed back in the lap.
Details and considerations
Musical period and composer
Baroque period, composer unknown – could be one of Bach’s sons or one of Bach’s pupils who composed this piece. This piece is taken from the second book of pieces Bach compiled for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. Many of the pieces are written in her hand, or in her husband’s son’s hands and friends. The Teaching Notes state ‘ The famous Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach of 1725 remains a compilation of wonderful and varied Baroque pieces, many of which are as educative as they are excellent. This popular Musette is thought to be by one of J S Bach’s sons. With its rustic vigour and bouncing LH patterns, this piece has long been a firm favourite with students and audiences alike.
Touch
There is a danger in this piece that the player will let go of some of the melodic patterns abruptly in their haste to move to the new playing position. Discuss with the player how to maintain contact with the keys as the hands are lifting off before moving to a new position on the piano.
There are instances where the thumb in this piece could potentially be played too loudly in the context of what is being played. Discuss with the payer how the thumb should be played so that there is no undue accent on the note that it plays.
Balance between the hands
For most of this piece the balance is to the RH. However, there are instances where the hands play with equal dynamics such as bars 3 – 4, bars 7 – 8, and the second half of bar 19 and all of bar 20. This will apply to the third section too. During the rest of the piece, the LH underpins the music with its drone-like sound playing either the tonic or the dominant of the key as a pedal note.
Phrasing
As discussed before, the phrases in this music are clear-cut with definite breaks at the ends of each of the phrases. The player should consider what the dynamics should be at the start of each phrase in comparison with the dynamics at the end of the previous phrase. A small emphasis on the first note of every phrase will help the listener to be aware of where each of the phrases commences.
Articulation
As with any piece of this period, the use of different types of articulation is an important feature. Consistency is the key whenever applying articulation to a Baroque piece. The lifts after slurs covering short melodic patterns must be observed as these help to contribute to a feeling of lightness yet vitality in this piece. The detached notes should not be too detached. The second section contains a number of two-note slurs and these contribute to the change of character in this section. The first note of course must be played louder than the second note in these two-note slurs. Then the player should notice the two-note slur in bar 18 that covers the middle notes of the bar. And, the following quaver note must be played in a detached manner.
Dynamics
As this piece is from the Baroque period, the dynamics should reflect the time of when it was written. The sudden change of dynamics, for example at the beginning of bar 3, adds to the character of the music. A range of dynamics should be employed in this piece from pp to f. Each section should have its own main part, however the climax of the piece should be reserved for the end. There should be a feeling of accumulation in this piece as if the energy and dynamics are gaining throughout the playing of it. As is always the case, whenever a phrase is repeated, the player must employ different dynamics so that the listener’s attention is kept.
Rubato
This is not a feature of this piece although a slight easing of the tempo at the end is appropriate. In my opinion, the player should not wait at the end of the first section so the fermata mark should not be observed.
An 18th-century musette de cour on display at the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum, Germany. Photo in Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Use of the LH
The LH has an extremely important role to play in this music. It provides the momentum and drive for the piece with its use of pedal notes and octave leaps. The player could envisage that an instrument is playing the LH similar in sound to an oboe or perhaps even, a French horn. These LH leaping notes must be played with a little resonance with a little weight provided by the shoulder supported by a fluid arm an elbow accompanied by a supple wrist. When playing these notes the player should feel the key being played right down to its key bed every time. The player should provide a little more emphasis on the lower of the two leaping LH notes.
Use of the RH
The RH, in comparison with the LH, has a slightly more playful and light-hearted character. In most cases, apart from bars 13 – 16 and the two-note slurs, the RH should be played with a light legato touch as if the player is playing staccato in the legato touch. This can be achieved by employing well curved fingers, using energy into the keys, playing the keys from a height and lifting off the fingers quickly after they have been played. In bars 3 – 4 for example, the player could lift the fingers with less height than those as discussed above.
Unexpected moments
Some players may find the frequent changes of hand position a little unsettling. However, discuss with the player how to prepare for these changes by looking at where the hands have to move to ahead of time and then taking the hands to where the eyes are looking. It is advisable for the player to move the hand that has to move the most first.
As well as the changes in the position of the hands, the hands change shape frequently. In some instances the hands are playing scalic patterns (mostly in the RH) and then suddenly the hands change to playing notes that leap from one to the following.
Bars 1 – 8
· Start the piece at mp level so that the peak of the first phrase is at mf level.
· Let the peak of the section occur in bar 2 at mf level.
· The second phrase of this section should be quieter, commencing at p level and the loudest of the phrase should occur at the beginning of bar 6 at mp level.
· The lift at the end of bars 1 and 2 and at the end of the three-note slur in bar 3, and similar bars, must be observed as this helps to maintain a lightness in the music along with showing the listener where the different melodic patterns are. These lifts though, as discussed before, should not be too abrupt in sound.
· The first note of the RH’s semiquavers as in bars 1 and 2 should not be accented. Here the payer must employ some tone matching so that the semiquavers are not played any louder than what the first note of the bars was played.
· There should be no pause at the end of this section; this should occur at the ending.
Bars 9 – 20
· start this section at p level as suggested
· let the peak for this section occur at the start of bar 19 at mf level.
· There should be more RH balance in this section.
· As is the case in the first section, the articulation is very important and should be strictly and consistently observed.
· The use of syncopation in the RH in bars 13 – 14 and 15 – 16 will need to be highlighted by the use of an emphasis on the RH DN and this will need to be played with a little resonance considering that is tied into the following bar.
· In the ABRSM Teaching notes they suggest that the player maintains a supple wrist when moving between RH positions in bars 13 – 16.
· The lift in the RH at the beginning of bar 18 should not be abrupt; the fingers should stay in contact with the key as the hand is being lifted.
· Bars 18 – 20 will require a little extra preparation from the player considering the change in material that is present.
· The player should not pause at the end of this section.
Bars 1 – 8 (repeat)
· Start this section at mp level. As is always the case where the music is repeated, the dynamics should be altered so that it provides interest for the listener. Here, for example, the dynamics of certain parts could be reversed.
· Let the peak for this section occur at the beginning of bar 28 at f level, the loudest for the whole piece.
· As a way to maintain the interest for the listener, reverse the dynamics in comparison with the first section. For example, play bars 1 and 2 quieter than the first section and then play bars 3 and 4 louder.
· Bars 25 and 26 could be played at p level so there is more contrast with the final two bars.
· Wait for two counts on the last notes before lifting the hands off the keyboard.
This page of the 1722 notebook contains the gavotte from French Suite No. 5 (BWV 816). Photo in Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons.