Eileen Gilligan Flute

A Partita in the Baroque period consists usually of Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue making it different from the four movement Sonata slow-fast-slow-fast. This Partita has a Bourree Anglaise as the final movement.

A “Courante” French or “Corrente” Italian, is a continuous, running dance in triple meter. The Corrente is livelier in tempo and style to the Courante.

The use of both scale passages and the interval of the 10th and larger give a perpetual motion and melodic voices style to this Corrente. There are two sometimes three voices at play.

The movement projects a sense of brilliance and momentum with no rests throughout.

As with all the movements, context is important for choosing tempo, articulations and overall musical interpretation of the movement. The context in this movement is the relevance to the cello and violin suites for reference and interpretation material and the Corrente dance itself. It was composed around the same time as the suites.

The player has to have many thought processes simultaneously in the Corrente.

The movement is a dance, so how does that affect tempo and phrasing choice because body and foot movement need to be considered. If the tempo is too fast, then the voices may not ring out and the elegant bounce reflecting the dance footwork can be lost.

Identifying the counterpoint and bringing out the voices.

Style of articulation and phrasing. Do the violin and cello suites influence choices?

Here is some context for style and interpretation.