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French Suites Nos. 1 & 2 for Harpsichord / Joseph Dillon Ford [notated music]

Title

French Suites Nos. 1 & 2 for Harpsichord [notated music]

Composer

Ford, Joseph Dillon, 1952-2017

Place of Publication/Creation

Sherborn, MA

Published/Created

2001

Type of Material

notated music

Genre

notated music

Publisher

Joseph Dillon For

Distributor

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/search?Ntt=joseph+dillon+for

Language

Unknown

Forms

electronic resource

remote

Physical Description

1 score (24 pages) + 2 parts

Media

unmediated

Carrier

volume

Contents Note

Suites for Harpsichord. Composed by Joseph Dillon Ford. 20th Century, Neo-Classical. Score. 24 pages..

Summary

Suite française no. 1 pour le clavecin (French Suite No. 1 for Harpsichord) -- The French Suite in D Minor was composed in 1987. This six-movement work clearly shows my affection for the -- music of Bach and Handel, although no identical dance sequence is found in either of the German masters' -- keyboard compositions. -- 1 Allemande [4/4, d, M+] -- The highly contrapuntal allemande (a dance type of German origin) is most unusual in its modulation to the -- relative major at the end of its first half--a procedure repeated in the sarabande and bourrée. -- 2 Courante [3/4, d, M] -- In this courante, a Franco-Italian dance whose name implies running or flowing, the upper voice takes precedence, -- and a steadily bubbling stream of eighth notes is heard continuously. -- 3 Sarabande [3/4, d, M+] -- The sarabande--a Spanish dance of Mexican origin--takes on a decidedly French guise with its lively dotted rhythms -- and swooping triplet figures. (The baroque style was nothing if not contentiously international!) -- 4 Menuet [3/4, d, M] -- The menuet, a French country dance which became highly stylized at the court of Louis XIV--the Sun King, here -- takes on a somewhat plaintive tone. -- 5 Bourrée [2/2, d, M] -- The bourrée, a sprightly dance whose name literally means "stuffed" or "thrashed," traces its origins to the -- Auvergne region of France. -- 6 Canarie [6/8, d, M] -- The suite concludes with a canarie, whose pervasive dotted rhythms seem to conjure up the exotic spirit of the -- Canary Islands, famous for their magnificent Phoenix palms. -- Suite française no. 2 pour le clavecin (French Suite No. 2 for Harpsichord) based on Voltaire's Candide -- The French Suite No. 2 in C Minor is a virtuoso keyboard solo whose program elaborates the principal characters -- and situations in chapter one of Voltaire's philosophically picaresque novel Candide. -- 1 "Il y avait en Westphalie" ("Once Upon a Time in Westphalia") [Allemande, 4/4, c, D] -- The opening allemande conjures up the pomp—and pretension—of the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-Tronch by -- weaving a web of complex polyphony and glittering ornamentation. -- 2 "Cunégonde" [Courante, 3/4, c, M] -- The second movement is a courante depicting the alluring but ingenuous Cunégonde, daughter of Baron Thunderten- -- Tronch, whose longing for "knowledge" seems to be answered by the opportune presence of the equally naive -- Candide. The movement is unified by a steady rhythmic pulse and tightly knit yet intensely expressive three-voice -- counterpoint. -- 3 "Candide" [Sarabande, 3/4, c, M] -- The third movement is a sarabande that paints a portrait of Candide, a sensitive but callow youth in the first flush -- of manhood. The longest movement in the suite, this music captures the changing moods and perspectives of -- Candide through striking harmonic inflections, textural variation, and an unusual sectional construction. -- 4 "Pangloss" [3/4, c, D] -- The fourth movement is reduced to two voices, the better to elaborate through intricate figuration and -- ornamentation the pedagogical pretensions of Pangloss, tutor to Candide and Cunégonde. His indiscretions with a -- maid in the Baron's employ set a dangerous example for his pupils that will change their lives forever. Voltaire -- brilliantly exploits the character of Pangloss to ridicule Leibnizian optimism. -- 5 "La raison suffisante" ("Sufficient Reason") [4/4, c, M] -- The fifth movement conceals the unspoken passions of Candide and Cunégonde under a thin veneer of rational -- order, until at last a wordless recitative seems to clarify what speech and reason alone could not properly express. -- The two-voice texture makes for a more intimate and pictorial representation, which is distinguished by imitative -- turns in both voices. -- 6 "Une leçon de physique expérimentale" ("A Lesson in Experimental Physics") [6/8, c, M+] -- M. le baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh passa auprès du paravent, et voyant cette cause et cet effet, chassa Candide -- du château à grands coups de pied dans le derrière. -- "Monsieur the Baron Thunder-ten-tronckh passed near the screen, and seeing this cause and effect, chased -- Candide from the castle with great kicks to the behind."

Notes

Harpsichord.

ISMN with hyphens: 979-0-58063-025-4

Description based on ISMN data provided by the publisher.

Music notation

Staff notation.

Subject

Suites

International Standard Music Number (ISMN)

9790580630254

Last Updated: 03-26-2022