Second Courante (Suite in D minor)

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Baroque · Piano

A French courante in three-two, a noble dance with a supple rhythm that wavers between two and three beats. From the Pièces de clavecin (1687) by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, a harpsichordist at the court of Louis XIV and one of the first women composers published in France. Written for the harpsichord, it plays very well on the piano. D minor, 3/2, 20 bars (about one minute), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• A light, detached touch, as on the harpsichord, and hardly any pedal. The ornaments of the original are not written: add them once you know the notes well. The piece starts with a pickup: count the incomplete bar before coming in. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

More pieces by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre

• Allemande (Suite in D minor)
• Sarabande (Suite in D minor)
• Gigue (Suite in D minor)
• Sarabande (Suite in A minor)
• Minuet in G minor

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0