à l'Allemande (In the style of an Allemande)

Allemande is a French word meaning "German style." It is a quadruple-meter dance, typically played at a moderate tempo, characterized by a polyphonic style and an anacrusis, which originated in French courts around the 16th century.

Although this third piece is in 3/8 time, if one considers each measure as one beat, then four measures form a unit, thus adhering to the allemande's characteristic of being in a quadruple meter. Furthermore, allemandes also feature the subdivision of one beat into three, and the interpretation of one measure as one beat perfectly aligns with the nature of the allemande. Its structure is a ternary form of A + B + A + Coda. The A section begins with an elegant anacrusis in the right hand, with the left hand entering contrapuntally; however, the contrapuntal section is not developed, merely repeating the anacrusis part before concluding. It is as if a young child is trying to start a conversation, saying "You know, you know..." but struggling to get to the point. The B section, on the other hand, has the atmosphere of a courante (a fast dance with a triple subdivision of the beat, often paired with the allemande around the 16th century) and speaks fluently.