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George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel Composer

Harpsichord Suite in G-, HWV432   

Performances: 18
Tracks: 68
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Musicology:
  • Harpsichord Suite in G-, HWV432
    Key: G-
    Year: 1720
    Genre: Suite / Partita
    Pr. Instrument: Harpsichord
    • 1.Overture
    • 2.Andante
    • 3.Allegro
    • 4.Sarabande
    • 5.Gigue
    • 6.Passacaglia
Back in the days before international copyright laws, any publisher could publish anything they wanted without fear of legal action. Thus, Jeanne Roger of Amsterdam published "surrepticious [sic] and incorrect Copies" of the suites in 1719 without paying or informing the composer. This led Handel to publish the works himself in London in 1720. The Suite in G Suite is one of the grandest and most impressive of the suites. In six movements, the Suite in G minor is much more than a standard-issue set of stylized dance movements. The first movement is an overture in the French style with a massive opening Adagio, followed by a fast and brutal Presto, with a pummeling theme played in thirds, sixths, and octaves. The following movement is a quietly lyrical Andante with a gently embellished melody. The next movement is a propulsive, two-voice Allegro in 3/8 time. The central Sarabande, marked Andante con moto, is an incredibly simple and affecting series of three- and four-voice chords with the melody as the top voice. The Gigue that follows is a hurtling movement in two virtuoso voices. The climax and culmination of the Suite in G minor is the monumental Passacaglia of contrapuntal force majeure.

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