42 Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin, K.1-42

Historical context

The Study in D minor, Allegro (No. 7) from the 42 Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin, K.1-42, showcases a particular structural design. As described in the book, its first section spans twenty-two bars, moving from D minor to F, while a subsequent twenty-one-bar section in F major concludes the first half. The second half then refers to the initial subject in F, modulates freely, and ultimately closes in D minor, repeating the latter part of the first half in a transposed form.

This movement represents a notable development within the collection. According to the book, its “most conspicuous advance is its relative extension and the free modulation of its second half,” which is further characterized as “a large-scale counterpart of the changing harmonic basis in the Branle.”

Drawn from George Grove; J. A. Fuller-Maitland (ed.), Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.), Vol. 2 (1906) — public domain, archive.org.