The English Suites is the title given to six suites for keyboard believed to have been composed (or at least collected and revised), between 1720 and the early 1730s. The title 'English' suites, according to J.N. Forkel (in a publication of 1801), was applied because Bach may have prepared a copy for a visiting Englishman. In fact the style of the suites is not at all English but, according to the eminent Bach scholar David Schulenberg, 'that of French or German compositions of the previous generation'.

These suites are characterized by very different opening Préludes. English Suite No. 1 in A has a shorter Prélude than the other suites in the sequence. This Prélude begins with a quasi-improvisatory flourish before proceeding into an intricate contrapuntal exercise. The Allemande as a dance movement is, as the name suggests, of German origin. This dance is quiet and steady, not brilliant, and its four beats to a bar and gentle semiquavers give it a sense of serene stability. The Courante, its title derived from the French verb 'to run', is vigorous and rapid in contrast to the Allemande. In this suite both Courantes are in the French style, as opposed to the Italian Corrente with simpler textures and less complex harmonic and rhythmic movement. The doubles, variations on the preceding Courantes, are characterized by flowing quavers.

The Sarabande, a slow, stately dance, probably Spanish in origin, represents the emotional heart of the suite. This Sarabande with its elaborate ornamentation and extended melodic line may well have been influenced by the Italian adagio rather than French models of this dance. Bourrées, along with minuets and gavottes, remind us in their rhythmic simplicity of a more earthy dance, releasing us from the courtly dignity of the sarabande.

The Bourrée is a French dance, similar to the Gavotte, but quicker. It is often followed, as in this instance, by a second Bourrée in a different key, after which the first Bourrée is repeated. These two movements are longer and more contrapuntal than Bach's earlier suites. The Gigue generates excitement, vigor, and zest with a foot-tapping rhythmic vitality as the suite comes to a dramatic culmination. The opening theme recalls that of the Prélude, and this line is inverted at the beginning of the second half in a vivid demonstration of two part counterpoint.

Writer: Graham Wade