How to play the Bach Partita for solo flute BWV1013 | Team Recorder
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2024
- The Bach Partita for solo flute/recorder - one of the staples of our repertoire, and an amazing piece. But how do you approach it?? In this video I help you to tackle this piece - how to effectively practice all those notes, understand how it's put together, and make musical phrasing.
The Partita BWV 1013 was originally in A minor, for the traverse flute. It is often played a minor third higher in C minor, on alto recorder. Of the four movements, this video concentrates on the first, the 'allemande'.
Scores and recordings can be found here:
imslp.org/wiki/Partita_in_A_m...)
I had filmed myself performing the piece too to include in the video, but in the end I was too much of a perfectionist and didn't lie any of the takes..! So that will come a different time. I want to note therefore that I play it a little slow than I do in the musical examples ;)
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In this video I play on a resin 442 alto by Vincent Bernolin.
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You are so good at communicating Bach's magic. Lol'd at how excited you got at 7:58 :D Thank you for sharing your passion and talent like this
I've just noticed the great disparity in statistics here - nearly 23000 views and only 850 "likes". I assume that's got to be because we classical music enthusiasts are more conservative in our social habits! Congratulations on a very inspiring video. I've been playing flute for over 40 years, purely as an enthusiastic amateur, and like many wind players I started on the recorder. I've been working at the Partita on the flute for the past fifteen years and I never paused to consider what a beautiful piece of music it would be on the recorder - like Telemann's 12 Fantasias for example. Thanks for breathing life back into this under-rated instrument. I should also tell you that my eleven year old son discovered my old recorder collection in a cardboard box recently and although he's a trombone player he started messing around on them and is getting quite enthusiastic - no pushing from me at all! Can you believe that it's he who introduced me to your videos? Keep up the good work Sarah, the world needs people like you.
Thank you :) ! it's always something very nice to see so much passion around music.
Thank you. I was working on the partita this time last year to get it 'ready' for Summer School. I spent a lot of time on it and know that it will repay a lot more effort on my part. A friend suggested the first of the alternative endings that you demonstrated and that's the version I play. I love the piece and would happily work on it every day.
This is SUCH a good video. THANK YOU SO MUCH for recording it! - Need to look into your other videos.
I'm a piano player, and big time Bach fan, an my piano teacher never explained to me phrasing. Or that you can make choices about it. And how you can do structural analysis, and make it benefit the performance. That's a really good and easy-to-take-in lesson you give here.
I really enjoyed listening to your voice and humour.
I needed something mind bending hard to do this weekend. This should work. Thanks for the video.
Thankyou thankyou thankyou 🙏🤗💜
Yes!!! Answered sooo many questions plus also helps with other pieces I'm starting to learn.
Awesome Sarah 🙏🎶💚🎶
Biggest thanks again 🙂
I am VERY glad you did this video "How To" on perhaps my favorite recorder piece - at my level, I know I will be working on this for months to get everything out of it - and learning a lot in the process. Bach was brilliant; finger exercises on the piano, finger exercises on the flute/recorder. You had lots of explaining to do here, and you did it very well (would still like to see your coloring on the score!). Thanks!
This song is a perfect showcase for the recorder. I can see why you love it.
I played this piece years ago but this inspires me to take a look at it again. It is great music! Look forward to the fun of analysing it again but now with your tips in mind.
Thank you! :) I am so happy you finally made this Video. I am currently practicing this piece for my entrance exams. I really love this new input! Your last videos were great too, but I didn't learn very much, because they were pretty basic (which is definitely a good thing for many people! Maybe not for little more advanced ones, but that's okay. Continue like that) It is amazing to watch you being so passionate about the music.
Even though i'm an electric guitar player who just likes Bach a lot this video was very informative for me as well. Also many of the tips you give have a universal quality to them imo. Great Video :D
That was a very good lesson! Thank you, Sarah!
Great lesson, Sarah, thank you so much for doing this. I know I'm 2 years late to the party, but I just started practicing this piece and googled it and was thrilled when your video popped up (I've only started following you in the past year, I have a lot of catching up to do). And your ideas on approaching the piece and on the structural analysis match what my teacher has been telling me, so it's great to hear the same thing said from two slightly different angles!
This is super amazing. YOU are a spectacular teacher. I'm currently working on this piece for the guitar, and I've currently hit an impasse, but this has helped me out a bunch. I think I finally knock this piece out with the information I've learned from you. Thanks so much!
This video is SO fascinating! Thank you for that Sarah, you always inspire me to know more and more about music and the recorder 🥰
You’re very welcome 😊
Thanks for this I learned some new things, specially about the harmony of the piece - I'm actually playing this on the piano right now - it's a very good exercise for the right hand cause it's full of patterns that don't lie so well on the piano so it's often full of surprises for a piano player and makes you think out of your pianistic comfort zone.
This was the piece that made me go out and buy my first recorder.
Most masterful master class Brava!!
I bought the sheetmusic for this at last weekend's recorder symposium here in cape town and have started practising it!
This guide is absolutely fantastic for someone like me who's just an amateur. After being on a three-year hiatus because of the Covid situation, I've finally picked up my recorder again. Starting with the Partita Allemande, it's my first step in reigniting my passion for recorder music. Your practice tips and structural analysis have been incredibly helpful. Thanks a million!
One of my absolute favourite pieces. This is so insightful, I love how your mind works Sarah ... 'crunchy'!
OMG hold up do you have the letter notes - I literally can't do it without them 😳
Great video, I play this on tenor as written for flute. ( Peters Ed) Less acute than alto, allows more variety when certain notes & passages played octave lower. Eg bar 6 high e, bars 9 - 11 to 2nd low c# then update back to high G. Melodic intent still preserved. 7 bars from end the high dcba becomes low d up a 7th to c b a, next bar all octave down to connect with low c starting next bar jumps to written a f d. Finish with high e d c 8ve lower, d b eabg# a Then last a minor appeggio start low e rising to high c - modify as you cottoned on to. Try it, works well. My mollenhaur gives stong low notes with a rich even tone.
I'm definitely going to give it a shot... I've been playing for a while now, but unfortunately never really learnt any kind of musical theory, so I'll try to make it sound nice but in the end, I'm probably just gonna end up listening to different versions to find my favourite way of hearing this beautiful piece...
Thank you very much for your videos, I'm always enjoying your content and loving your passion for this beautiful instrument!
I fell in love with this in a previous life as a flute student! I managed to play the Allemande (poorly) and the Sarabande. Playing it on the recorder is a distant dream, but maybe one day. My favourite interpretation is by Irena Grafenauer (on the flute, that is).
Such a wonderful video. I really enjoyed it. I am one of your beginning students so I am far from being able to consider playing this but i know I will hear so much more in the music now when i listen! And I can also apply your tips and details to my Christmas carols and simple country songs! Thanks as always.
It sounds great even in all your variations. Bach was a f*****g genius! I'm in luv with him now!
I have just started practicing this piece, and found your video very helpful.
Fantastic video with great ideas!
This was the last piece I worked on with the Boehm flute before switching permanently to recorders (in the ‘70s). I’ve toyed with it on recorders but never seriously. Thanks for the great analysis. I would love to hear you play it!!
Great stuff. Should've saved this for March 21st! A nice birthday gift for the great JSB! Harry, India
Late to the show. Started practicing this piece this week. Agree it is hard. Especially the constant focus on articulation and air speed to hit the high notes, yet not overblow the next low note. Great practice though. I have a feeling that learning this piece will open many doors.
I find this video useful for not just BWV1013, but also for Telemann Fantasias, van Eyck modos with 8th and 16th galore and much more... thanks Sarah!
Life's too short for Telemann.
I luv this vid so much!!!
Found it!!!! I luv whatever this is!
Lots of lovely ideas here Sarah.
I am not a professional flautist (I hope that is the correct?) but I’m a classical pianist and yesssss!!! I do all of these practice techniques, too, in learning my music. Ahh I love this because I try to explain this to my students. It’s so exciting to me, I don’t know why! Lol I know others do this, too... right? Maybe? I don’t know but I’ll be having my students watch this for sure to have a better grasp of understanding their music. Thank you so much!!! Yay!! Sending you love and positive vibes ✨💕
i love Sarah, this video is very important to me as i go study recorder online only, no professor in my entire country.❤❤
Fabulous tips! I'm currently tackling this piece. Consistently getting good quality high notes is one of the most tricky aspects.
Guess what? 2 years on from my comment I'm STILL working on this. Getting there! Eventually... 😫
Bravo!
I will use some of those tricks on the guitar. Thanks. I might try it on recorder which i havent played since high school. This piece kinda makes me want to pick it up.
I'm learning this piece on the concert flute and all your advice are really helpful! Thanks!
PS. That high A is still really high and hard to play without an explosion on the concert flute.
you are sooo awesome!
Hey! So cool that you did this! loved it!
As a flute player I am struggling with this piece, and have been for awhile now. It is a target I aim to achieve but just can seem to get it right
I would also look at our just practicing edition video of this piece it might help.@@dimanaquira
@@flutechannel watching it now! Did not know it existed to be honest so thank so much for sharing~! I watched your Gaubert one and it help, as well as the Faure Siciliene which help me teach my student better...
amazing video
i totally agree with the ending, that high C is like a train riding through your ear and is better avoided
Beautiful Masterclass! and one of my favorite practice pieces, here's youtube scrolling music for those of us who don't have printers...
oops almost for got the link! czcams.com/video/Datoqxx-biw/video.html
Perfetta analisys
Sara, you are the most. I love for ever!
Just a quick note: As a (very) amateur recorder player, I've been playing around this piece for nearly two decades. What a delight to have someone who knows what she's doing pick at it in front of me for a while! Thanks for this. It so brightened my day... and is sending me running back (with love) to my horrible little plastic alto! :)
Where did you buy the c minor recorder transcription?
@@shawnrivera3557 Hmm. I replied to this last night, but it doesn't appear here... I must have done something wrong. But look for the website IMSLP, a collection of downloadable public domain musical works. Search for BWV 1013, and then click the arrangements and transcriptions tab. Someone posted a transcription they produced through MuseScore or Sibelius or a similar program. That's to say-I got it for free!
Could you post a video of you playing this song while showing the actual flute and hand movements? It'd be really helpful
OMG I MISSED THAT YOU DID THIS ON THE ALTO. I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TEACH MYSELF BY EAR ON MY RECORDER SINCE I’VE PLAYED THIS ON FLUTE. *dead*
!INSPIRED by this clip!
Although it is too hard for the beginner like me, I'm going to try this piece step by step, very slowly. Think it's going to be fun! :D
good luck!
I couldnt stop laughing at the part where you said "i'll just show it like this HA" BIG MOOD this reminded me of secondary school days when my section leader used to do that
Thankyou so much ❤
First , eerste I will try to play it thanks!!!
The third movement: Sarabande (or something like that) is lots of fun too!
I've transposed for bass, nevertheless it is very difficult BUT very rewarding, when things fall in place what a joy! Swinging the notes work weel too.
I took a stab at the partita today with not much success... but it was really fun to try! Bach is quite demanding but logical, so once you figure out the patterns it's not as insane. Just a teeny bit insane XD
Oh this is possibly life saving!! (Possibly an exaggeration! 😆 - but recorders are life to us all here! 🥰 ) I have been set this piece for a competition in mid-March and it has really been intimidating me...!
I was honestly feeling that I might not be quite ready for it yet, but I am lucky to have your channel, as well as a very veteran-y experienced teacher, and I suppose she wouldn't have given it to me if she didn't think I could handle it.. but as you say, there so much more to this piece than just 'handling' it!! So this video is invaluable, thank you. We are spending the whole hour on it next lesson but she wants me to get working through it and interpreting it by myself first. 😄 I feel far more equipped now! 🙏 ... perhaps I will be brave and post to Instagram for you when I complete my challenge!! 🤪
Yes please do! ☀️
I wish you still played and taught the flute. I think I'd learn a lot 🤔.
very good
I suppose that our revered master was trying to fill the page with nice black blots, so that recorder players would have to a "structural analysis" to play the piece..... :) Fun, very funny. It is awesome!!! Cheers!!!
Hmmm... I'm not going to give long explanations. I only say: this video should be taught by recorder teachers to their students. GREAT PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE (BTW, I accept the challenge, perhaps it is a bit above my skills but I'm sure I'll learn a lot in the process)
Excelent. Thank
This is revenge for all the recorder music traverso players have pinched 😉. But seriously, this video took me back to all the fun times I had with this piece. I totally agree about extracting the lines from the music, especially the “bass” lines.
Been learning this myself on soprano recorder. I transposed it to Gminor to fit it in range and it made me wonder what everyone else was doing. My recorder is old and third hand and it needs to be revoiced as it barely sounds above high B; the high third octave C and D are extremely shy notes and the ending goes up even higher to a G!, which it simply won't play. I will probably re-write the ending chord to reflect lower as you suggested. Thanks!
very interesting indeed. This works like a charm even about singing, I guess
This is way way too hard for me to attempt. Bach 'Oh my God'. You, however Sarah, are fabulous!
So Sarah, sorry, I'm going to give a little bit of a hard time regarding the ending. I don't agree with your statement about that final A not being that high on the flute. Allow me to give you some context. Sure, on a modern Boehm flute that final A is not that high. However, as you say, Bach wrote this for the traverso (no Boehm flutes until the 19th century) and the high A is actually the highest note on the traverso, and some models can't even reach that note (well, you can trick some flutes to play up to the A#). I learned this piece on the recorder and on the traverso, and I can tell you that the high A on the traverso requires the same degree of care that the high C on the recorder and it is really not that easy to play softly, which doesn't quite support your argument. I agree with you that Bach was just illustrating the a minor chord, and your approach certainly accomplishes that nicely (in c minor). Yet the way Bach wrote that ending, as played on the traverso, seems to suggest that he wanted a dramatic finish on that final chord. Your solution is fine with me, and can be quite beautiful, but I feel it doesn't have the same effect. Other than this, I like how you look at the structure of the piece, so thanks!
Yes, I agree. Playing this Bach partita on a baroque traverso in 415 or even 392 is a real challenge because of this last a3. It is the hardest note and often you can hear traverso players struggling and taking a little break before deciding to play an a2 instead. Bach definitely meant to emphasize the end with this peak. On the contrary while the high notes on a recorder just sound out of tune, shrill or hoarse at least they kind of sound a bit like what was written in the notes. Trying the same on a baroque traverse flute (by the way there are lots of different models and some just can’t reach a3) you often end up with nothing else then thin air 😩.
But thank you very much for your inspiring method how to tackle this piece. May be I’ll try playing it on the recorder.
Hi Randy, thanks for taking the time for this explanation, I’m so happy my viewers keep me learning...! I didn’t know that, it’s really interesting to know and definitely changes my view of the ending somewhat. CONFESSION I played modern Boehm flute back in the day and was like ‘oohh that high A is just fiiiiiine’. Ha! Still, I do prefer my unofficial ending rather than the top C shriek 😛 Sorry Bach!
@@Team_Recorder Since not all traversos can reach that high A, I'm sure a lot of 18th century traverso players also preferred their own unofficial endings. Anyway, I doubt Bach is going to jump from his grave and yell a you "GIVE ME THAT RECORDER!" :) Oh, by the way, the traverso's range is only two octaves and a fifth, so less that the two octaves and a sixth on the recorder, and I've been able to squeeze three octaves out of some recorders. So, go recorder!
Sarah, your ways of changing the ending is very musical, and your explanation for altering the ending makes sense. Yet the quality of the sound of high-C doesn't bother me. In fact, I am in awe of it. Having learned about the existence of "stratospheric" notes only after playing recorder for 30 plus years, the challenge for me has been to acclimatize to the weird fingerings and awkward postures (to cover the bell hole for F-sharp, B-flat, et al), and overall, to capitalize on the intensity of these notes while trying to play them as beautifully as I can. In the Allemande, that final note is pure drama -- almost a scream!
@@rrssna I am a bit late for this and I am definitively not an expert of either the recorder or the baroque flute but I just discovered a very nice interview of the Netherlands Bach Society to Marten Root who explains quite nicely his opinions on the piece and talks explicitly about your point on that last A" on a baroque transverse flute. He also plays very nicely that note at the end of his recording, which is also at the page of the NBS. Possibly other people following this channel might like to have a look. It is here:
czcams.com/video/fFbHJqVP90U/video.html
Thank you
Omg I love that piece ! I've played it on voice flute hahah
Nice! I prefer lower recorders too. It doesn't sound grounded in 440 Hz.
Linn Be I agree!!! 415 is the most beautiful sound !!
The tip about recording yourself is a great one. I thought I had a Guitar part down pat, but on playback I was rushing the groove, which is odd for me because I'm usually a Human Metronome... 😀
I am going to learn this piece (in G minor) on my Chalumeau in G made by Tupian. That is really a big challenge.
👍❗👍 👍❗👍
Thank you
Hey Sarah, perhaps you could do a "how to play" on the recorder concerto in c major by Vivaldi. I adore it and i'd love to work on it, but it is extremly hard and i don't know where to start...
Sarah, top A is in fact a very high note on the one-keyed flute! Perhas we shouldn't always play it on the flute either!
4:53 What is moving through keys in a Bachy way? Is there a common pattern? Like moving through the circle of fifths for example? Or something else maybe?
Thanks :)
I see your channel in all video but this video you look so much beautiful (akka).
I’m looking for a short piece to play for a recorder audition that I can learn in like 3 or so weeks. Any suggestions?
Hi Sara, great video, indeed I only find sheet music in A minor where can I get it in C minor as you say?
I would greatly appreciate your help.
Thanks a lot.
Hi miss Jeffery,
great recommendations! In my younger years I've played the partita many times happily in d, with an acute d included ;-)
The advantages are: a much more favorable sounding and less awkward-to-play key, getting rid of the muffled half-holed fingerings and partially of the many forked ones, but yeah, a bit more work to do by 'kneeing' in the upper register - you can't have it all. And characterwise a better relationship to the original key of a. If the flute allows for it, why not?
High a is not a very subtle note on the traverso either, by the way. Personally I like the climax, not unlike the famous sonata by Telemann ;-)
Cheerio, Willem
Hi Willem, which Telemann sonata do you speak of? I enjoy and play a lot of Telemann and am curious! I personally love the high note climax at the end of the Bach as well.
@@Ratwoman5000 The F-major sonata in 'Der Getreue Musikmeister' (numbers 1 and 5), published in 1728 and republished in 1963 by Bärenreiter. In this sonata high c is actually quite easy to play if your recorder allows for this note. Telemann of course was a recorder player himself, so he knew what he was doing, hence the many parts he wrote for this instrument. (And, by the way, Händel started his carrier as an orchestral oboe player, if memory serves). All the best, Willem
The "twice per bar" at 6:55 is really four: that's Gm Cm F Bb chords in the measure you display. So the question is whether you should emphasize those harmonies, or the fact that there is two large shapes, as opposed to four short shapes in the next example.
I'm starting to learn this great piece now. You don't talk much about articulation. For the main 8-note melody, I like to slur notes 2-3-4 and tongue the rest, which you seem to do sometimes. I like how Ana Vidovic plays this on guitar (search youtube for this). BTW, I just ordered the Bernolin resin recorder that you use in this video.
so much to talk about 😱
Regarding the ending, instead of turning around to avoid ending on high C (or your other suggestion), I prefer to start on high G and end on low C (to avoid turning around). Another ending I like is that of guitarist Ana Vidovic, which repeats the initial 8-note melody and then goes down to low C: czcams.com/video/-IVziY-k-to/video.html
I want a baroque, romantic era, and classical orchestra contest.
Hello, Sarah! That is another great video! Thank you! I want to ask you about Mollenhauer Modern recorders and Mollenhauer Hedel recorders. Have you ever played them?
Hi Sarah, Congratulations for this wonderful space.
I was comparing this Allemande with others by Bach, and also with some Allemande dances performed by period dancers and this doesn't looks like an Allemande at all. Do you think this could be a Prelude rather than the dance? I am too nerd, ha ha ha
When I play this piece, I prefer to go up to the top C at the end, but instead of using the regular fingering (1and 4), I use a different fingering that give a softer sound and that is: thumb half, 1, 2, 3 shaded and 4 closed. Most of my recorders will do this with some slight variation of the shaded holes.
Hi Sarah! Love your music but can you please send me a link to where you got your sheet music from because it is not in your description and I would love to learn this and audition for my State NSW Recorder Group with this piece! Love your videos! Thank you!~
P.S I play Alto/Treble recorder
For the soprano/tenor players, there is a version in Gm on IMSLP too.
Liam Coleman thanks.
Thanks, Liam. Unfortunately, I can't find it. Do you have a link?
IMSLP has a tab for arrangements and transcriptions. You may have missed it because it is labelled "for oboe".
I love the Benjamin Zander interpretation class video on this piece. Since I've seen that video, I've been shocked how *bad* many professional flautist phrase this piece. Even professional flautists. It's like they only focus on playing all the notes, without ever understanding what they are saying.
the link is broken and i don't really know how to find this , can anyone help me pls
That "surprise" tone at 7:31 is, if I remember my choir director correctly, the "Leitton" (or "leading tone" in English), that we all expect to resolve up to the tonic (except when, like here, it doesn't).
The best (in my opinion) interpretation of this piece is from Kate Clark. Look it up I just search Kate Clark or baroque flute and it pops up. It’s absolutely stunning.
Indeed ... for a great interpretation of the movement on alto recorder, also consider the performance by Jan Van Hoecke also found on CZcams. A performance that favors phrasing over speed.
The original challenge would be to play up to the first repeat Mark in one breath eeeeek! Then you start interpretation and performance. Bach’s instrumental music contains surprises for all levels. There’s a Message there, but it’s in German, which I can’t speak. Same for the sonatas.
Great video! Does anyone have a link for the sheet music? I can only find one for flute that goes too low for alto recorder
❤️❤️❤️
Hi, were can I have the sheet music for this piece? I only found it in A minor.
What are your suggestions when it comes to the articulation? Do you slur any of the notes according to your subphrases or do you separate everything?
Definitely needs slurs, but each person has their own interpretation as to where.
Has anyone tried getting a multiphonic at the end? I think if you leak air in the right places maybe you can get a G and a softer C
Can you give us a version for soprano/tenor? I played soprano for 4 years and just got my new tenor
Where can i get the notes in c minor? Your link doesn't work and i can only find a minor!