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The short answer
A teaching piece with a history before its familiar title. Sinfonia No. 4 in D minor, BWV 790 is a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 6, an estimate.
- sinfonia
- Baroque
- Key of D minor
- dreamy
Also known as Sinfonia 4, BWV 790.
History
Sinfonia No. 4 in D minor, BWV 790 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
Entries grow closer
Hear later subject statements overlap across all three voices.
How to practise it
Keep the running approach connected to tied arrivals as voices answer.
- Practise the first gesture slowly, retaining both ties.
- Count the silent bar before practising the inner entry and tie.
How hard is it
Sixteenth-note turns alternate with tied longer notes and leaps, and the idea reappears in the middle and bass voices. The three lines need independent articulation and carefully controlled releases.
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
