PlayPiano
The short answer
A minuet in the notebook, with its composer unresolved. Minuet in B-flat major, BWV Anh. 118 is a minuet from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 3, an estimate.
- minuet
- Baroque
- dancing
- gentle
- hand independence
- 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
Two lines, one dance
The upper line alternates shorter figures with held notes while the bass keeps moving. Practise each line separately, then maintain a clear three-beat pulse when they join.
The motion changes hands
The melody becomes more active while the bass uses quarter notes. Keep the quicker upper notes even without making the slower bass heavy.
Two endings, different basses
Both endings hold the same upper C, but their bass lines differ. The first leads back into the repeat; the second prepares the following section. Listen below the sustained melody.
A decorated new phrase
The next section opens with a trill and dotted figures, then moves through running eighth notes. Preserve the dance pulse as the surface becomes busier.
A different final landing
The first ending keeps the bass moving under a held upper note. The final ending settles both lines on long notes. Let that change make the ending sound complete.
How to practise it
Melody against moving eighths; decorations and longer notes
- Melody against moving eighths
- Decorations and longer notes
How hard is it
The early two-hand proposal values a poised pulse, balanced melody and clear phrase endings through this exact minuet.
About this piece
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
