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The short answer
A teaching piece with a history before its familiar title. Sinfonia No. 12 in A major, BWV 798 is a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 6, an estimate.
- sinfonia
- Baroque
- Key of A major
- joyful
Also known as Sinfonia 12, BWV 798.
History
Sinfonia No. 12 in A major, BWV 798 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
The theme breaks apart
Recognise developing fragments rather than expecting complete subject statements.
How to practise it
Repeated tone and nearby turns; later second-line entrance.
- Group the nearby turns around the recurring tone rather than accenting every short note.
- Prepare the second-line entrance after counting the two rests.
How hard is it
The opening mixes eighths, sixteenths and register-leaping figures; the same activity enters the middle voice and later the bass. Maintaining an even line while highlighting its successive entries is the central challenge.
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
