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Händel, Georg Friedrich : Suite Courante HWV445

Work Overview

Music ID : 30366
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:courante
Total Playing Time:3 min 30 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (1)

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: September 16, 2024
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

The interesting aspect of this Courante is the interplay between the two upper voices. While the bass is largely independent and its position is clear to any listener, the soprano and alto are consistently written in close proximity, leading to potential confusion, and thus, voice independence is desired.

If performed on a harpsichord or similar instrument, differentiating between the two upper voices would likely be almost impossible, but it becomes possible on the piano. One can imagine that Handel composed this piece knowing that the two upper voices would sound as a single voice, but on a modern piano, differentiation is achievable.

First, the performer should try playing only the soprano line. For instance, from measure 24 onwards, there are many measures where a rest appears on the first beat. Pay particular attention where the soprano rests on a strong beat, and reduce the alto's volume as much as possible. For example, in measure 25, beat 1, the alto's E-flat should be considered as the next note after the F-G-D in the previous measure. Since the harmonic progression is V to I, the E-flat is a resolution note, and should be played more softly than the D in the previous measure.

Achieving such voice independence is a challenging task, and at times it may be difficult to make it sound exactly as written in the score, but given how it is written, it is important to perform it as closely as possible to the composer's intention.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou
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