Bach - Partita: Sarabande and Gigue - Revision Cards in A Level and IB Music

Texture

SARABANDE: Almost entirely two-part writing
the right hand has the melody with semiquavers, while the left hand has a supporting part with mainly quavers - mel-dom-hom
GIGUE: Mainly three-part writing, with some fugal (contrapuntal) texture)
The opening six bars are monophonic, with just the fugue subject (as usually happens in fugal writing)
As the first section continues, there are reductions in the number parts, occasionak chords against one rapidly-moving part, a moment or two of four-part writing

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SARABANDE: The Sarabande is in rounded binary form
There are two main sections, and each to be repeated
GIGUE: The gigue is in ordinary binary form (not rounded)
there are fugal elements, but the piece is not a regular fugue
There are rhyming endings - although the final bar of B is a descending broken chord (which makes for finality) not an ascending one s at the end of A (which leaves the music more open)

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The music uses major - minor tonality with modulations to closely related keys
Each movement begins in the tonic D major and modulates to the dominant in the course of the A section
There is a return to the tonic towards the end of the B section
The return is through related keys. B minor (the relative minor) and E minor (the relative minor of the subdominant) are visited in both the Sarabande and the Gigue

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Bach uses functional harmony; relies on perfect cadences and other 'standard' chord progessions to establish and maintain major - minor tonality
the harmony is largely diatonic, and based on triads in root position and first inversion
diminished 7ths are used with suspension over a tonic pedal in A immediately before the final chord of the first half of the Sarabande and two examples near the end of the second section of the Gigue (both involving a G sharp and an F natural
Appoggiaturas (leading note to the tonic) add tension in the closing bars of each sections of the Gigue (for the first time at bar 41)
there is faster harmonic rhythm leading up to an important cadence (eg the penultimate bar of the first section of the Sarabande

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There is conjunct movement, including some scalic runs in faster moving passages (such as the Sarabande RH from top A to B near the end of the A section, a gesture that helps to clinch the modulation to A major
Disjunct movement (involving leaps) is common as well, and often involves use of broken chords (eg the beginning of the Gigue where a broken chord of D is followed by a broken chord of D7)
There is frequent use of sequence, e.g in the second phrase of the Gigue (bars 3-4) and bar 32 of the Sarabande
The systematic sequential use (and repetition) of short motifs (as in much of the Sarabande RH) FORTSPINNUNG

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The Sarabande is in simple triple time, with slow beat
The characteristics emphasis on the second beat of the bar in a Sarabande is clearly noticeable only in both bars of the opening phrase (and the transposition and repetition of this phrase in the B section)
There are frequent passages of steady, continous quavers in the left hand, e.g bars 3-4. The right hand usually has shorter notes, with many semiquavers and demisemiquavers
There is some use of syncopation, notably with quavers beginning off the beat (sometimes notated as two tied semiquavers as in bar 5)
The gigue is in compound triple time, with three sets of three semiquavers per bar
There is almost continous semiquaver movement in the Gigue. This is commonly in one part at a time, with longer note values elsewhere, but occassionally two parts have semiquavers simultaneously in the B section, notably near the end, where the increased rhythmic activity provides additional impetus as the piece approaches its conclusion

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