Arcangelo Corelli
Sarabanda
in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7

ID: 1638

Can you sound like a violin?

This Sarabande sounds solemnly tragic because of its minor mode and slow tempo. It is also filled with expressive "sighs", two-note slurs expressing tension and release. The right hand cantabile and phrasing is obviously very important here, but the left hand also has many interesting and original features - e.g. the long, emphasized notes on the second beat, typical of the Sarabande style. A pianist would do well to study a good violin performance when playing a piece like this. Pianists can learn a lot if they study the way violinists shape a melody, and then try to strive for the same singing tone on their own instrument, connecting every note with the next as much as possible. A violinist with sense of style would also add ornaments to this piece. Baroque composers expected performers to embellish simply written, slow pieces like this. A good example of what can be done can be found here.

Background

Violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) wrote many beautiful sonatas for violin and harpsichord. This is one of the movements from the Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5, No. 7, transcribed for the piano.

Practice & Performance Tips:

This piece sounds very dramatic because of its key (D minor) and tempo (Largo).
Try to imagine the warm sound of a violin when playing the right hand. The two-note slurs should be played legato with an emphasis on the first note.

When trying to memorize this movement:
- Study the relation between the right and left hands. Ask yourself if the lines are in parallel or contrary motion in each measure. You may want to write arrows in between the staff to detect the direction of the notes more easily.
- Note that the left-hand notes in mm. 5-8 form a descending line from D to A.
- Note that the motive in mm. 9-10 is repeated as a sequence a step down in mm. 11-12.

The most dramatic passage in this piece is mm. 13-14 because of the chromaticism (an E-flat is added in m. 13) and the tritone G-C-sharp in the right hand. A tritone was considered “scary” or “evil” in the Baroque period. When you play these measures, make them sound like the climax for the entire... Sign up for a Gold membership to read the practice tips.