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Baroque · sinfonia

Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor, BWV 797

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 6, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A teaching piece with a history before its familiar title. Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor, BWV 797 is a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 6, an estimate.

On this page
  • sinfonia
  • Baroque
  • Key of G minor
  • gentle

Also known as Sinfonia 11, BWV 797.

History

Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor, BWV 797 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

  1. Delayed replies create three strands

    The compact upper entry gains an offset middle answer and lower response. Listen to each strand within the developing overlap.

  2. Running exchanges sound over held support

    Upper figures interleave above a long lower A. Hear the moving layers without cutting off the sustained foundation.

  3. Changing entries thicken the continuation

    Decorated upper replies meet new middle entries and related lower figures. Follow one strand through the denser movement.

  4. Opening-related material returns above lower motion

    Earlier gestures recur with the delayed middle entry before held G sounds. Hear their convergence into the final fermatas.

How to practise it

Short attack and long answer; rest and tied inner notes.

  1. Keep the initial small gesture distinct from its held answer.
  2. Practise the inner line alone, counting both its initial silence and tied duration.

How hard is it

Level 6, estimated

Short sixteenth-note gestures alternate with sustained dotted-quarter lines and ornaments. The compact written units still require independent entries and releases across three voices.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Johann Sebastian Bach, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Licence
Public Domain
Source
mutopiaproject.org

More by Johann Sebastian Bach

  1. Prelude in C major, BWV 846Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
  2. Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
  3. Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: III. PrestoLevel 9, estimatedWith Maestro

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Short attack and long answer; rest and tied inner notes.

Practise it in PlayPiano