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The short answer
A teaching piece with a history before its familiar title. Three-Part Sinfonia No. 1, BWV 787 is a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 5, an estimate.
- sinfonia
- Baroque
- playful
History
Three-Part Sinfonia No. 1, BWV 787 belongs to Bach's three-part Sinfonias. The earlier teaching notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann was begun in Köthen on 22 January 1720. Bach made a separate fair copy of the collection in 1723, revising its presentation and order. These dates mark stages in the collection's history, not the exact day this individual piece was composed. The collection reached print in 1801, long after Bach's lifetime.
Sources
What to listen for
Paired presentations
Recognise the subject presentations grouped in pairs within each half.
How to practise it
Carry the running opening into a sustain, then prepare the inner voice's answer.
- Practise the opening run into E and keep counting through the tie.
- Count the first silence, then practise the answering sixteenths evenly.
How hard is it
The opening sixteenth-note idea passes into another voice while longer tied lines continue. The challenge is maintaining three audible lines, independent releases and ornaments, rather than simply playing the short piece quickly.
About this piece
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
More by Johann Sebastian Bach
- Prelude in C major, BWV 846Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
- Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: III. PrestoLevel 9, estimatedWith Maestro
