Johann Sebastian Bach composed three sets of six dance suites for the keyboard, which today form an important of piano music. The third set, known as the Partitas (BWV 825-830), were composed between 1725 and 1730 or 1731, placing them during Bach’s time in Leipzig. This also makes them the last suites he composed for the keyboard. Each partita was published separately but they were also published as a collection forming volume 1 of the Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice). The title “Partita” in the strict sense actually means variation, however, it is far more usual to see it used as an alternate name for a dance suite. The Partitas are also occasionally called the German Suites. This title was applied after Bach’s death to continue the naming convention of the English and French Suites. Yet, like those sets, there is nothing particularly “German” about the Partitas. On a side note, Bach’s three suites for violin are also titled Partita.
The Partitas are the most technically challenging and diverse of the three sets of suites. The English Suites were characterized by a consistent form; each suite being preceded by a prelude and only one dance inserted before the gigue. The French Suites universally dispensed with any form of introductory movement, but varied in the number of dances interposed between the sarabande and gigue. The Partitas, on the other hand, vary significantly in the form of each suite. Each suite, except for the fifth, begins with a different type introductory movement before the allemande. The first and fifth both start with preludes, the second with a sinfonia, the third with a fantasia, the fourth with an overture, and the sixth with a toccata. The suites vary in the number of dances inserted before the gigue, yet there is never more than three additional dances. Besides this, there are significant deviations from the dance suite form. The second suite ends exceptionally with a capriccio instead of a gigue and the sixth suite places an air before the sarabande. The third suite in A minor also includes a dance titled Scherzo. While not the type of scherzo made famous by Beethoven, it does share some characteristics with it.
Together Bach’s three sets of dance suites, while not originally composed for the piano, are today an important and remarkable collection of piano music.
