The short answer
Allemande, French Suite No. 4, BWV 815 is an allemande by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 6, an estimate.
- allemande
- Baroque
- Key of E-flat major
- dreamy
- gentle
- broken chords
- voicing
Also known as French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 815; J.S. Bach.
History
The opening stays in a lower register, with short upper figures above a held low foundation. Little rests divide the moving groups. Let those gaps make room for the sustained voices rather than breaking the phrase apart.
Sources
What to listen for
A low-register beginning
The first B-flat pickup leads into a figure near the lower middle of the keyboard. Listen for warmth and clear direction rather than a bright high melody.
Sound through the gaps
Rests interrupt the quick upper groups while low half notes continue. Hear the connection that the held line supplies.
How to practise it
- Keep the spread chord-tone pattern even while shaping its longer phrase.
- Keep sustained and moving voices audible without making the supporting layer heavy.
How hard is it
The upper sixteenths combine spread chord tones and rests above quarter and half-note support in separate voices. Balancing sustained and moving material supports an intermediate estimate.
About this piece
- Licence
- cc-zero
- Source
- musescore.com
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

