BAC.

P75

Analytical  notes  on

Johann  Sebastian  Bach’s  

French  Suite  No.  3    

Contents
Johann Sebastian Bach .......................................................................2
Allemande ............................................................................................4
Courante ..............................................................................................5
Sarabande............................................................................................5
Anglaise ...............................................................................................6
Menuet & Trio.......................................................................................6
Gigue....................................................................................................7

Ross  A.  Hamilton

B.Mus.[Hons],  M.Mus.[Mus.Ed.],  A.Mus.A.,  L.Mus.A.  

Copyright  ©  2015  by  Ross  A.  Hamilton.    All  rights  reserved.  

Photocopying  is  not  permitted.  

www.rosshamilton.com.au  
 

The  analyses  in  this  booklet  represent  one  interpretation  of  the  works,    
but  are  not  necessarily  the  only  possible  interpretation.
 Johann Sebastian Bach
1685-1750

Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist from the late Baroque
period. He was born into a family of musicians in Eisenach in 1685. Bach received early
training in the violin and organ from his father and his older brother, Johann Christoph.
At the age of 15 became a paid chorister at St Michael’s church in Lüneburg, followed by
various other positions as violinist and organist.

In 1708, Bach was appointed court organist to the Duke of Weimar. He later became
concertmaster of the court orchestra as well. Bach composed many of his great organ
works, as well as cantatas and other instrumental music, at this time.

In 1717 he became Kapellmeister (director of music) to the Prince of Cöthen. Prince

Leopold was a keen amateur musician who played the viola da gamba, and he maintained a
fine orchestra of around 18 members for his own entertainment and the esteem of his court.
Bach wrote many of his great instrumental works specifically for these musicians. Bach’s
first wife, Maria Barbara, died in 1720, and the following year he married Anna Magdalena.

From 1723 until his death, Bach was Cantor (singing master) at St Thomas’ Church, Leipzig.
This church had a well established and quite elaborate instrumental and choral tradition;
in his first few years there he wrote an astounding number of new cantatas for use in the
church services - sometimes as frequently as one each week. His eyesight deteriorated in
the final years of his life, and he died in Leipzig in 1750, at the age of 65.

Bach was an unrivalled master of counterpoint, and a lot of his music is highly complex.
Throughout his life, he was appreciated more for his brilliant organ playing and improvisatory
skill than for his compositions. By the end of his life, his music was regarded as old-
fashioned, as a simpler, more superficially elegant (galant) style was in vogue.

Bach’s compositions
Bach’s compositions for keyboard instruments include:
• six Partitas, six ‘French’ Suites and six ‘English’ Suites.
• seven Toccatas.
• fifteen Inventions and fifteen Sinfonias.
• Goldberg Variations.
• Italian Concerto.
• The Well-tempered Clavier [48 preludes and fugues in two books].
• shorter works such as preludes and dances.
• more than 250 works for organ, including chorale preludes, trio sonatas, solo concertos
and toccatas (e.g. Toccata and Fugue in D minor).

His choral music includes:

• St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion.
• Mass in B minor.
• Magnificat.
• Christmas Oratorio.
• over 200 church cantatas, including “Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele”, “Ein feste Burg ist
unser Gott” and “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”.

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 2

 • over 20 secular cantatas, including the “Wedding”, “Peasant” and “Coffee” Cantatas.

His instrumental and orchestral music includes:

• six “Brandenburg” concertos.
• concertos for one, two, three or four harpsichords.
• two violin concertos.
• a concerto for two violins.
• four orchestral suites.
• six suites for cello.
• six sonatas and partitas for violin (i.e. three of each).
• six sonatas for violin and harpsichord.
• three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord.
• The Musical Offering.

An Index to Bach’s works (Bach Werke-Verzeichnis) was made by the German musicologist
Wolfgang Schmieder in 1950. The BWV number identifies the piece.

Bach’s contemporaries
• Dietrich Buxtehude (Danish, c.1637-1707).
• Johann Krieger (German, 1651-1735).
• Johann Pachelbel (German, 1653-1706).
• Johann Kuhnau (German, 1660-1722).
• François Couperin (French, 1668-1733).
• Tomaso Albinoni (Italian, 1671-1751).
• Antonio Vivaldi (Italian, 1678-1741).
• Georg Philipp Telemann (German, 1681-1767).
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (French, 1683-1764).
• George Frideric Handel (German, 1685-1759).
• Benedetto Marcello (Italian, 1686-1739).
• Domenico Scarlatti (Italian, 1685-1757).
• Domenico Zipoli (Italian, 1688-1726).

Bach’s compositional style

Music from the late Baroque period (c.1600-c.1750) is often elaborate and complex.
Characteristics of Bach’s compositions include:
• counterpoint (two or more equally important voices heard simultaneously).
• ornamentation and embellishment (e.g. trills), particularly at cadence points.
• imitation and sequence.
• modulations to closely related keys (typically up or down a 5th).
• monothematic style (one main theme per movement).
• long phrases.
• steady rhythmic pulse.
• hemiola rhythm before some important cadence points.
• tierce de Picardie endings for works in minor keys.

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 3

Suite in B minor BWV 814
Bach’s six ‘French’ Suites for harpsichord were composed during the early 1720s, while he
was working as Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold of Cöthen. The term suite indicates a
collection of dance pieces (traditionally an Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue),
each in the same key. The name “French Suite” was not Bach’s - it was added later,
possibly indicating the predominance of French dances found in these Suites, which include
the Menuet, Gavotte, Bourrée and Loure.

The six French Suites are smaller in scale than the English Suites, and do not contain any
preludes. They were used as teaching pieces for Bach’s children, his new wife Anna
Magdalena, and other students. The first five suites were included in the Clavierbüchlein of
1722 that Bach assembled for Anna Magdalena.

In addition to the Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue, this Suite contains an
Anglaise and a Menuet with Trio. Each movement is in binary (AB) form, as indicated by the
repeat signs.

Allemande
An allemande is a dance of moderate speed and serious character, usually in quadruple
time, beginning with an anacrusis. It originated in Germany (the name means “German”),
and typically has a flowing semiquaver pulse.

A b.1-2 The opening statement is all in B minor, using 2-part counterpoint. The left hand
begins one beat later than the right hand, in imitative style. There is a continuous
semiquaver pulse; the semiquavers alternate between the hands in b.1 in a musical
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dialogue. The passage ends with a ii -V -i progression in b.2.
3-4 A sequence in D major (the relative major key). The harmony moves in a circle of
5ths (indicated by the bass notes on the strong beats: E-A-D-G), continuing the
progression of b.2 (Cs-Fs-B).
5-12 Continuing in a quasi-sequential fashion, returning to B minor in b.5-6 then modulating
to Fs minor (the dominant key) from b.7. The opening semiquaver motif (a rising
leap, then falling and rising steps) recurs frequently, in dialogue between the hands.
The new key is confirmed by V-I cadences in bars 9-10 and 11-12. The cadences are
decorated with trills, and the tonic chords contain a tierce de Picardie (As).
B 13-16 This passage uses an inversion of the main theme, modulating via B minor (the start
of b.13) to E minor (the subdominant key). Imitative dialogue occurs frequently,
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particularly in b.13. The new key is confirmed by a V -i cadence, decorated with a trill,
in b.16.
17-24 Returning to B minor via a sequence, based on b.13, in b.17-19. Bars 19-22
resemble bars 13-16, but are altered and transposed from b.20 so as to remain in
B minor, ending with a V-VI (“Interrupted”) cadence in b.22. Imitative dialogue
continues in b.22-23, and the piece ends with a V-I cadence containing a tierce de
Picardie in b.23-24.

M indicates a lower mordent; this sign was originally referred to simply as a “mordent”.
The small brackets (e.g. b.1) found in some editions indicate an appoggiatura; this sign was
called an Accent in Bach’s day. It can be combined with another ornament such as a trill or
mordent. The appoggiatura is played on the beat, with emphasis. It is usually a repetition of
the last note of the previous beat, thus forming a suspension.
m usually indicates a short trill in Baroque music; it can also indicate an upper mordent.
(µ indicates a trill that is approached from the note below.

(µ
indicates a trill that begins with a turn.
The fermata (U) above the final double bar line indicates the end of the piece.

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 4

Courante
A courante is a fast dance in triple time, beginning with an anacrusis. The name means
“running”. There are two national varieties of courante - French and Italian. This Courante
is the French type, which is dignified and unhurried. French courantes typically feature
dotted rhythms, and often use cross rhythms (hemiola) in the approach to the cadence; this
means that the usual h. h. beat grouping becomes h h h, as can be seen in bars 11, 17, 24, 25
and 27.

A b.1-5 The opening statement is all in B minor, ending with a V-i cadence in b.4-5. There is
considerable use of imitation between the three voice layers (soprano, alto and bass).
5-12 The opening motif continues to be used imitatively, modulating to Fs minor (the dom-
inant key) from b.6 (though briefly returning to B minor in b.7).
Hemiola rhythm is used in b.11 (where the right hand is grouped h h h, as indicated
by the recurring q. e rhythm). The passage ends with a V-I cadence in b.11-12,
containing a tierce de Picardie (As).
B 13-19 The opening motif returns in B minor (now beginning on the dominant chord instead
of the tonic). The harmony moves in a circle of 5ths in b.13-16 (Fs-B-E-A-D-G-Cn,
usually indicated by the bass line), modulating to E minor (the subdominant key)
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from the end of b.16. The new key is confirmed by a V -i cadence in b.18-19.
19-28 The final section modulates briefly to D major (the relative major key, b.19-20),
then returns via G major (b.21-22) and E minor (b.22-23) to B minor. Hemiola rhythm
is used extensively throughout this passage. There is a V-VI (interrupted) cadence
in b.25-26, and a V-i cadence in b.27-28.

The time signature indicates two dotted minim beats per bar (compound duple time).
; q (e.g. b.1) indicates an appoggiatura; the appoggiatura is played on the beat, reducing the
length of the next note, as if “leaning” on it. The small brackets (e.g. b.3) found in some
editions have a similar meaning.
g indicates an arpeggio (i.e. the notes of the chord are to be played one after another).

Sarabande
A sarabande is a slow, stately dance of Spanish origin, in triple time. A particular feature of
most sarabandes is an emphasis on the second beat of the bar, due to a long note or
ornament.

A b.1-4 The opening 4-bar phrase is all in B minor, coming to rest on the dominant 7th chord
in b.4. The melody is graceful and dignified, sometimes using a syncopated rhythm
(with ties across strong beats).
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5-8 Modulating to D major (the dominant key). The new key is confirmed by a V -I
cadence in b.7-8. The melody is now mostly in semiquavers, but syncopation
continues in the inner voice. There is a long note on the 2nd beat of b.8, but apart
from this, the characteristic Sarabande rhythm is not strongly apparent.
B 9-12 The opening theme returns in the left hand, with a new countermelody in the right
hand. It begins in D major, and modulates to A major from b.11.
13-16 Modulating to Fs minor (the dominant key). The left hand is now mostly in semi-
quavers, and syncopation continues in the right hand. The new key is confirmed by
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a V -i cadence in b.15-16.
17-20 This passage begins with a 2-bar phrase in E minor (the subdominant key). There
is a long note and ornament on the 2nd beat of b.18, the strongest example of the
characteristic Sarabande rhythm in the piece.

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 5

 Bars 19-20 are a transposition of bars 17-18 into Fs minor, with the hands reversing
roles.
21-24 The closing passage is all in B minor. The opening theme returns in the tenor voice
7
in b.21-22, and the movement ends with a V -i cadence in b.23-24.

Anglaise
An Anglaise is an English dance in lively duple time, with a marked accent on the first beat
of each bar.

A b.1-4 All in B minor. Each bar begins with a e eaae motif. The left hand imitates the right hand
in b.3.
5-8 Modulating to D major (the dominant key) from b.7. The new key is confirmed by a
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V -I cadence in b.8.
B 9-16 The opening theme returns in D major, then modulates via A major (b.11-12) to
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Fs minor (the dominant key). The new key is confirmed by a V -i cadence in b.15-16.
17-32 The closing passage begins with a sequence, which returns via E minor (the sub-
dominant key, b.17-18) and D major (b.19-20) to B minor. The opening theme returns
in b.26, now remaining in B minor, ending with a V-i cadence in b.31-32.

The time signature indicates two minim beats in a bar (simple duple time).

Menuet and Trio

A menuet, or minuet, is a graceful dance in triple. Its name refers to the small (minute)
dance steps. The Trio is another minuet of contrasting character. The Menuet and Trio are
each in binary form, as indicated by the repeat signs. At the end of the Trio, the instruction
Menuet da capo indicates that the Menuet is to be played again, without the repeats.
The overall form of the movement is a type of ternary form called Minuet and Trio form.

Menuet
A b.1-8 The opening 8-bar theme is all in B minor. The first four bars use only tonic and
dominant harmony, with the left hand sometimes imitating the right hand (e.g. b.3).
The harmony moves in a circle of 5ths in b.5-8 (usually indicated by the lower bass
notes: B-E-A-D-G-Cs-Fs), and the passage ends on the dominant 7th chord in b.8.
9-16 The opening theme is restated, beginning in the same way as b.1-6, then modulating
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to D major (the dominant key) from b.14. The new key is confirmed by a V -I cadence
in b.15-16.
B 17-24 The opening theme returns in the bass in D major, modulating to Fs minor (the dom-
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inant key) from b.21. The new key is confirmed by a V -i cadence in b.23-24.
25-36 The closing passage begins with a sequence, which returns via E minor (the sub-
dominant key, b.25-26) and Fs minor (b.27-28) to B minor. Bars 29-36 remain in
B minor, ending with a V-i cadence in b.35-36.
Trio
A b.1-8 The opening theme begins in B minor, and modulates almost immediately to E minor
(the subdominant key). There is a V-i progression in b.3-4, without coming to rest yet.
Bars 5-8 return to B minor, coming to rest on the dominant chord in b.8,
B 9-16 A variation of the opening theme returns (initially in the bass) in E minor, then mod-
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ulates to D major from b.12. The new key is confirmed by a V -I cadence in b.15-16.

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 6

 17-24 Another variation of the opening theme; the melody uses a very similar rhythm to
b.1-8, but is sometimes inverted or transposed, returning to B minor from b.18.
There is a dominant pedal in b.20-22 and a V-i cadence in b.23-24.

Gigue
A gigue is a lively dance, usually in compound time. It is related to the jig (which originated
in the British Isles), but is more elegant and refined. Many gigues begin in a fugal style
(i.e. one hand entering after the other, in imitation).

A b.1-4 The opening theme is all in B minor, with the left hand imitating the right hand one bar
later, like a canon.
5-16 This passage is in D major (the relative major key), beginning with a sequence that
is based on a circle of 5ths harmonic progression (B-E-A-D) in b.5-8. The left hand
continues to imitate the right hand in b.5-8, and the right hand imitates the left hand
in b.11-12. There is a V-I progression in b.15-16, without coming to rest yet.
17-23 The opening theme returns in the bass, modulating to A major from b.18. There is a
new countermelody in the right hand.
24-34 Modulating to Fs minor (the dominant key). Bars 27-34 recall bars 9-16, transposed,
and with the hands reversing roles. The passage ends with a V-i cadence in b.33-34.
B 35-38 Another canonic entry, with the left hand imitating the right hand, beginning in B minor
(on the dominant chord). The harmony moves in a circle of 5ths (Fs-B-E-A), bringing
a passing suggestion of A major in b.37-38.
39-52 This passage begins with a sequence, passing through G major (b.39-40), A major
(b.41-42) and B minor (b.43-44). It settles in E minor (the subdominant key) from the
end of b.44. Bars 45-52 are mostly a transposition of bars 9-16 up a 2nd, ending with
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a V -i cadence in b.51-52.
53-68 The closing passage begins with another sequence, returning via D major (b.53-56)
to B minor. Bars 61-68 are a transposition of b.27-34 into B minor, with the hands
reversing roles at first, ending with a V-i cadence in b.67-68.

The time signature indicates three quaver beats in a bar (simple triple time).

Copyright © 2015 by R. A. Hamilton 7