View source for Overture in the French style, BWV 831

{{Short description|Keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Overture in the French style'', BWV 831}}
{{for|the musical form|French overture}}
The '''''Overture in the French style''''', [[Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis|BWV]] 831, original title '''''Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art''''', also known as the '''''French Overture''''' and published as the second half of the ''[[Clavier-Übung II]]'' in 1735 (paired with the ''[[Italian Concerto, BWV 971|Italian Concerto]]''), is a suite in [[B minor]] for a two-manual [[harpsichord]] written by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]].
==Composition==
An earlier version of this work exists, in the key of [[C minor]] (BWV 831a); the work was transposed into B minor to complete the cycle of tonalities in Parts One and Two of the ''Clavier-Übung''.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} The keys of the [[Partitas for keyboard (Bach)|six Partitas]] (B{{music|flat}} major, C minor, A minor, D major, G major, E minor) of ''Clavier-Übung I'' form a sequence of intervals going up and then down by increasing amounts: a second up (B{{music|flat}} to C), a third down (C to A), a fourth up (A to D), a fifth down (D to G), and finally a sixth up (G to E).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/essay/CU1-e.html|title=J.S. Bach: The Six Partitas|last=Tomita|first=Yo|date=2002|access-date=31 October 2015}}</ref>  The key sequence continues into ''Clavier-Übung II'' (1735) with two larger works: the ''Italian Concerto'', a seventh down (E to F), and the ''French Overture'', an augmented fourth up (F to B{{music|natural}}).  Thus this sequence of customary tonalities for 18th-century keyboard compositions is complete, extending from the first letter of his name (Bach's "home" key, B{{music|flat}},  in German is B) to the last letter of his name (B{{music|natural}} in German is H).
==Terminology and structure==
The term ''overture'' refers to the fact that this suite starts with an [[overture]] movement, and was a common generic name for French suites (his [[orchestral suites (Bach)|orchestral suites]] were similarly named).  This "overture" movement replaces the [[allemande]] found in Bach's other keyboard suites.  Also, there are optional dance movements both before and after the [[Sarabande]]. In Bach's work optional movements usually occur only after the sarabande.  All three of the optional dance movements are presented in pairs, with the first one repeated after the second, but without the internal repeats.  Also unusual for Bach is the inclusion of an extra movement after the [[Gigue]].  This is an "echo", a piece meant to exploit the terraced loud and soft dynamics of the two-manual harpsichord.  Other movements also have dynamic indications ([[Dynamics (music)|''piano'' and ''forte'']]), which are not often found in keyboard suites of the Baroque period, and indicate here the use of the two keyboards of the harpsichord.  With eleven movements, the French Overture is the longest keyboard suite ever composed by Bach. It usually has a duration of around 30 minutes if all the repeats in every movement are taken.
==Movements==
#[[Overture]]
#[[Courante]]
#[[Gavotte]] I/II
#[[Passepied]] I/II
#[[Sarabande]]
#[[Bourrée]] I/II
#[[Gigue]]
#Echo
==Style==
The style of this work is similar to that of composers like [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] and [[François Couperin]], but it also bears similarities with German composers like [[Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer]] and [[Georg Philipp Telemann]]. Such suites with an introducing overture were normally composed for orchestral settings, but rarely for solo instruments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/bachbib/review/bb-review_CU2facs.html|title=Bach's Clavier-Übungen in facsimiles|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>
==Notes and references==
<references/>
==External links==
* {{IMSLP2|work=French Overture, BWV 831 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)|cname=French Overture}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060831220648/http://www.jmc.co.il/musicfile.asp?mid=13 Recording by pianist Iddo Bar-Shai] (archived on the [[Wayback Machine]])
{{Compositions for Organ, Keyboard and Lute by Johann Sebastian Bach}}
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[[Category:Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach]]
[[Category:Compositions for harpsichord]]
[[Category:1735 compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions in B minor]]
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