Suite No.1 in G major BWV 1007

The
opening Prélude
of
the first suite is reminiscent of that of the first pages of the
Well-Tempered
Clavier,
and takes the listener on a masterful journey of chordal
progressions, modulating around the key of G major before finally
granting a sense of resolution in the final bar as we land again in
the tonic key. The Prelude is over and the suite truly begins in the
Allemande
which
in the First Suite is flowing in tempo, embracing the traits of
peace, order and happiness that were so typical of the dance style.
It is followed by an energetic courante in an Italian style
– the
Cello Suites feature two different styles of Courante
writing;
that of the Italian court and also that of the French court. The
Italian style is characteristically a lively dance with running
passages in triple time as opposed to the French style which we will
hear later in the Fifth Suite. The Sarabande,
historically
an elusive dance style possibly of Latin origin is believed to have
been a seductive and lively dance in its day. By the time Bach was
composing sarabandes, the original lascivious form had been deemed
unfit for polite society and grown into the stately expressive tune
we are accustomed with in the music of the Baroque era. Bach wrote
more sarabandes than any other dance form and the First Suite
Sarabande

is testament to the era’s characteristics; its brevity and simplicity
are the movements most striking attributes. In the First Suite,
Bach’s penultimate dances of choice are two Menuets
– small
and delicate as the translation of the term would suggest. The most
likely reason for the inclusion of a Menuet in this suite is the
dances popularity at the time. The second Menuet
is
in the parallel key of G minor and is the only movement in a
different key to the tonic of the piece. The suite concludes as all
suites do with a Gigue – the etymology of which is probably the most
complicated of all the dances. Several countries, including our own
fair isle lay claim to the term, however there are several other
terms it could have been derived from, including the German Geige
or
violin. In the 16th and 17th centuries, like the courante, the gigue
was adapted into two different styles, a French court style and an
Italian court style, the latter being the style the gigue of the
First Suite leans towards.