Sarabande (Suite in A minor)

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Baroque · Piano

Another sarabande, in A minor, short and expressive: a good first step into French harpsichord music. 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. A minor, 3/4, 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. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm. 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)
• Second Courante (Suite in D minor)
• Sarabande (Suite in D minor)
• Gigue (Suite in D minor)
• Minuet in G minor

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0