Bach's fast compound meter pieces fully express their inherent joy. This Gigue is no exception. The atmosphere of such pieces can be significantly altered through careful articulation.

For instance, this author would prefer to play the quarter notes in the right hand during the opening three measures short and detached to convey a sense of joy. Some performers might hesitate to shorten these quarter notes, as the composer wrote a quarter note followed by an eighth note for one beat, rather than an eighth note, an eighth rest, and another eighth note.

For this author, this Gigue recalls the Gigue from Bach's French Suite in G major. Please observe measure 4 of that Gigue: Bach notated one beat as an eighth note followed by a sixteenth note. Yet, in actual performances of that Gigue, the eighth note is overwhelmingly played short and detached.

Consequently, even though the Gigue in the current Partita is notated with quarter notes, it is perfectly acceptable to play them detached to express joy.