Suite in E Major, BWV 1006

Prelude & Loure

WORKBOOK
Your Instructor: Eliot Fisk

tonebase Guitar
About This Lesson WATCH PRELUDE WATCH LOURE

In this lesson, Eliot Fisk delivers an insightful lesson on navigating and taking the best of all worlds
when tackling Bach's BWV 1006 Prelude. The Loure was a slow, gigue-like baroque dance popular in
France. As with most French movements in a Baroque suite, there are many subtleties in rhythm
and ornamentation that could be incorporated into a performance. Join Eliot Fisk as he
demonstrates some of his favorite moments and solutions to these gorgeous pieces by Johann
Sebastian Bach.

DOWNLOAD SCORE

Eliot Fisk

Guitarist Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer

famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. After nearly 50
years before the public he remains as his mentor Andres Segovia
once wrote, “at the top line of our artistic world.” Fisk performs with
orchestras, chamber ensembles, creative crossover projects,
transcribes works to add to the repertoire, and teaches in Salzburg.

Contents

03
Prelude: Introduction and Bach’s string music
08
Loure: Section A

05
Practicing and numerology
09
Ornamentation

06 Technique 10 Section B & Later Movements

If you have any corrections, comments, or critiques relating to this

workbook, please send them to ethan@tonebase.co. We strive to
deliver the highest quality enrichment experience. Thank you!
Prelude: Introduction and Bach’s string music
The Prelude is an exuberant and virtuosic piece, and the 2nd movement Loure is highly contrasted
– a slow Gigue with subtle French ornaments. Bach often puts two very contrasting styles right
next to one another: an Italian concerto in F major in the style of Vivaldi, and a French overture in B
minor. One of the challenges in playing this piece is shifting between these two styles intelligently.

The work of Bach can be thought of as a series of “sonic cathedrals.” He used certain ordering
principles repeatedly in his pieces. The number six appears often in different forms, including the
six sonatas and partitas for solo violin BWV 1001-1006, and his six cello suites BWV 1007-1012. The
instrument Bach would’ve played BWV 1006 on was called a Lautenwerck (a sort of lute-
harpsichord), with gut strings and a smaller range.

Contemporary
lautenwerck made by
Steven Sørli

The sound was reportedly so similar to the lute that it would surprise a professional lutenist. Since
the Baroque lute was usually tuned to D minor, it would be bizarre to write music in E major for it,
since there would be virtually no open strings used in the key. For this reason, it’s very unlikely this
piece was intended for the lute.

Bach also wrote six suites for the cello around the same time period, while he was mourning the
death of his first wife Maria Barbara Bach.

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BWV 1001 - 1006 are divided into three sonatas and three partitas, while the cello suites are
divided into three groups of two by virtue of their movement structures. We’ll see these numbers
retain significance in terms of intrevals, motivic construction, and even the tonal progressions Bach
uses.

Bach would later re-use the Prelude from BWV 1006 as the Sinfonia for Cantata No. 29 (manuscript
pictured below), adding bass continuo, strings, timpani, and trumpets, and changing the key to D
major.

The classical guitar did not exist during Bach’s time, but it is somewhat similar to instruments that
did (keyboards, lutes, and even organs). Fisk uses contextual knowledge to inform his performance,
particularly looking at the continuum of how many notes Bach wrote at once. Bach’s Partita for solo
flute, for example, has only one note at a time, of course. His cello suites are mostly single-note,
with occasional chords. The violin sonatas and partitas have even more occasional chords and
counterpoint, while the harpsichord and organ pieces have maximal use of multiple notes.

Labeled 1006a is the lute version of this piece, the one we are adapting for guitar. While studying
with renowned harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick, Fisk attempted to play as many notes as possible
from the original manuscript. Kirkpatrick suggested he instead play just the violin part. Fisk has
since created his own arrangement with elements from 1006A but with far fewer bass notes. With
fewer notes he has greater fluidity.

04
The orchestral score for Bach’s Cantata No. 29 is very valuable as an aid for informing a
performance of 1006, as it shows Bach’s concept of color and phrasing for the melodies. Tilman
Hoppstock’s edition of 1006 contains the lute version underneath the violin version. Often, there
are long stretches where everything is identical, but some changes do exist.

Practicing and numerology

This prelude is a great endurance challenge, so practice in small units. The phrases tend to start
slightly after the downbeat, with an eighth-note rest first. Learn the piece little by little, one bar at a
time. You may practice each bar twice in a row before moving on. Start right after each downbeat.

1 7 1 5 3 5

The opening motif contains the musical DNA of the entire movement. This motif is formed of two
sets of three notes (1-7-1 + 5-3-5). The next measure includes an inversion of the first motif tacked
on to the original (1-2-1-7-1 + 5-3-5).

Bach was very interested in the relationship between numbers, letters, and music. The letters of his
name, if taken to be German musical notes, spell the melody B♭, A, C, B♮. If the letters of his name
are converted to numbers (A=1, B=2, etc.), we generate the sequence (2, 1, 3, 8). The sum of 2, 1, 3,
and 8 is 14. Whether or not this was intentional, it is fascinating to observe that the first two bars of
1006 contain 14 notes!

“B” “A” “C” “H”

05
Technique

Echo effects are very typical of the Italian style – where a phrase is repeated at a far softer
dynamic, resembling an echo. This is indicated by the suddent shift to piano, such as measure 5.
One way to do this is to stop the other strings at the downbeat. Make more out of the notated
dynamic changes, since these aren’t often heard. Watch the video lesson for some of Fisk’s
complete fingerings. Generally, don’t switch dynamics right on the barlines, wait until the phrase
ends, usually one note after the downbeat.

Measure 17 features a violin technique called bariolage, involving a sudden change of strings.
Practice the chords that the moving voices form. Think of the relationships between the voices in
terms of intervals, not the contemporary name for the chord!

Bach keeps the E constant throughout these chords, while the other intervals alternate between
6ths and 7ths. The interval of the second that began the piece is here inverted into a seventh and
used in a new context.

M. 17

3 4 4 6 7 6 7
(intervals between outer notes)

6 7 6 7 6

06
Measure 43 introduces a G♯ pedal and several other echo effects. We officially arrive at our new
key area (C♯ minor) in measure 51.

Use the flesh of fingers in echo sections, and then the nail for forte. The theme returns augmented
again going to A major. Another bariolage passage begins in bar 63, this time in A. The A is an open
string on fiddle, so some guitarists take the A down an octave. Fisk prefers to finger it in the written
octave to preserve the intervals.

The progression of keys has been descending in thirds: E major to C♯ minor to A major. In measure
106 we continue this trajectory and move to F♯ minor. Finally, we come to a dominant passage
taking us back to E major and head straight into the Loure.

07
Loure

Bach did not write many Loure movements in his suites. This movement from BWV 1006 bears a

slight resemblance to the Loure in the fifth French Suite (G major).

This piece is full of appoggiaturas and ornamentation. According to CPE Bach’s guidance,

appoggiaturas would likely be interpreted as eighth notes. However, more recent scholarship on

Baroque music suggests a lighter, more florid short-long approach. The wonderful thing about

Baroque music is its flexibility with interpretation. There are occasional differences between the

violin and lute versions, and Fisk tends to take elements from both. Feel free to adapt your

interpretation from both scores and try both even and inégales approaches to ornaments.

Section A

Bring out the lower melody that enters at the end of measure 1, which is an imitation of the upper

melody a fifth lower. Measures 6 to 7 contain further appoggiaturas written out in full as quarter

notes.

In measure 8, beat 3, elongate the initial A♯ before following with B to C♯ as thirty-second notes.

Measure 10 includes an appoggiatura from B to A♯, written out in full (sixteenth note to dotted

eighth) in the violin version.

08
At the cadence in measure 11, the appoggiatura on C♯ should be elongated before resolving to B.

We can add mordents and other ornamentation with left-hand slurs or across different strings.

Using just the left hand for ornaments makes them lighter and more delicate, whereas cross-string

ornaments imitate the harpsichord but can sometimes be too heavy and noisy

Ornamentation

The guitar can play trills and other ornaments in a variety of ways. For a more delicate effect, a

simple pull-off is often all that is needed. To imitate the harpsichord, guitarists usually use cross-

string trills. Although the lute players would not have employed cross-string trills, adapting Baroque

music for the guitar (an instrument that did not exist at the time), it is perfectly acceptable to use

the variety of effects available to us. Of course, much of this comes down to personal preference

and interpretation, so experiment with different possibilities and fingerings.

Just in the opening few measures, Fisk includes several ornament types

Trill over F-sharp across strings 1 and 2, using a-i-a-a in the right han

Left-hand pull-offs from A to G♯ for the appoggiatura

09
For the appoggiatura in beat 5 of measure 1, play F♯ on string 2 to open E on string 1. The G♯ to F♯ in

measure 2 can be played either as a short ornament to emphasize the major third or as a long

appoggiatura.

Left-hand trill on the D♯ sounds more delicate than a cross-string trill. Trill across strings 2 and 3 in

measure three over the first C♯, stopping the D♯ on the final note. In measure five, the mordent on

C♯ could be played with left-hand slurs, or across strings 2 and 3. On beat 4 of the same measure,

the B to C♯ ornament again could be played just with the left hand, or across strings 2 and 3 if the

G♯ is omitted. Measure 9 includes a rare opportunity to play an ornament across strings 2, 3, 2, and

1 (F♯, E, F♯, E).

Section B

The G♯ to A appoggiatura in measure 12 could be played as a short to long note, long to short note,

or embellished as a mordent instead. In measure 15, be sure to stop the F♯ on string 2 upon arrival

at the E♯, whether played with a left-hand or cross-string trill. Various flourishes could be added to

measure 16.

10
The F♯ octave near the end of the 16 could be split, sounding the lower note before the upper.
Consider following the bass voice from the violin version in measure 20, adding a lower D♯ on beat
3. Slide finger four from G♯ to A on string 2 to prepare for a cross-string trill.

To conclude the trill, lift finger one off the upper note to prevent it from ringing on and confusing
the harmony. Similarly, at the end of measure 22, lift finger one off the D♯ as the trill settles on C♯,
then as the melody arrives on the D♯, lift finger four off the C♯ appoggiatura.

The final E chord could have the third “filled out” with a short flourish.

Later movements

Following this very ornate Loure is a French Gavotte en Rondeau consisting of five entries of the
main theme and four episodes (nine sections in total). The two minuets were probably intended to
be played with a Da Capo repeat (bringing back Minuet I without repeats at the end of Minuet II),
although it does not explicitly say in the score. The Bourrée also follows the French style (and title),
but the final Gigue fits the Italian style better and might more accurately be described as a Giga.
This suite reflects Bach’s ability to mix and complement French and Italian compositional styles.

11