HWV438 e-moll

Its composition dates back to Handel's Hamburg period. The determination of its composition period is significantly hinted at not only by its style and range of notes used, but also by the use of short octaves, as described later. Although no prelude remains, it is believed to have been left to the performer's improvisation, similar to HWV436 and HWV439-441.

Allemande

The Allemande is characterized by the imitation of short sixteenth-note motifs between voices. Its overall length is short, at 21 measures, and no particular harmonic complexity is observed.

Sarabande

The Sarabande is notable for its use of short octaves, which supports the dating of this suite's composition. The low E note notated in measures 1-2 demonstrates this. According to Rampe, when played on a keyboard instrument equipped with a short octave, this E note is played on the G-sharp key rather than the E key [1]. While such short octave mechanisms ceased to be built into English keyboard instruments after the mid-17th century, they continued to be featured in practice and educational clavichords in German-speaking regions until the mid-18th century. From this, the present work is positioned as a piece for keyboard performance lessons during Handel's Hamburg period.

Gigue in four-part form

The Gigue in four-part form, like the Gigue in HWV439, is essentially positioned not as a dance but as the final movement of an Italian sonata. The four parts share the common characteristic of beginning with imitation between the hands. Overall, there are no significant changes in texture, but notable features include, for example, the deviation from the basic meter in the third part, and the arpeggiated chords in the right hand of the fourth part, which form a pedal point not present in previous sections, emphasizing the dominant of G major. In terms of performance technique, one should strive to smoothly transition to the next chord by changing fingers on the suspensions of chords.