PlayPiano
The short answer
A polonaise preserved in a family notebook, with its composer unresolved. Polonaise in F major, BWV Anh. 117a is a polonaise from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 3, an estimate.
- polonaise
- Baroque
- dancing
- grand
- ornaments
- voicing
History
This piece survives in the second notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, associated with 1725 and held in Berlin as Mus. ms. Bach P 225. The notebook provides a historical home for the music, not proof that Johann Sebastian Bach composed every piece inside it. The selected catalogue leaves this work's composer unresolved. The Mutopia source identifies a Bach-Gesellschaft volume published in 1894, but that reference volume is not established as the piece's first publication.
Sources
What to listen for
An ornamented opening
Short ornaments decorate the opening melody. Keep the three-beat pulse clear underneath them rather than letting each decoration interrupt the phrase.
Hear both layers
A melody above repeated lower notes gives way to a more mobile texture. Listen for the upper line while allowing the accompanying notes to remain lighter.
Let the phrase settle
The melody descends, then rests on a longer F. The bass also closes on F. Give this arrival room before returning to the opening repeat.
Recognise the closing idea
The final two melody bars repeat the closing idea from the first section. Notice the familiar descent and final long note as the piece comes home.
How to practise it
Ornaments over a steady pulse; separate upper voices
- Ornaments over a steady pulse
- Separate upper voices
How hard is it
The early two-hand proposal prioritizes a poised dance pulse, coordinated phrase shape and clear releases through this exact polonaise.
About this piece
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
