Johann Sebastian Bach

French Suite no. 5 in G major, BWV 816

c. 1722–1724

[Wikipedia] · [IMSLP page 1] · [IMSLP page 2]

Total duration: 17'

1. Allemande
2. Courante
3. Sarabande
4. Gavotte
5. Bourrée
6. Loure
7. Gigue

The French Suites (BWV 812–817) exist in two primary versions: the first (BWV³ 812.1–817.1; denoted A in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe) captured in a copy by Johann Christoph Altnickol, and the second (BWV³ 812.2–817.2; denoted B in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe) incorporating various later readings. The versions are broadly similar except for the more elaborate ornamentation in B, although it should be noted that, since B originates from multiple sources, not all its ornamentation need be observed concurrently.

The Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach also contain copies of the French suites; the 1722 notebook is similar to, but not exactly the same as, version A, whilst the 1725 notebook is captured in version B.

Further, the third (BWV 814) and fourth (BWV 815) suites exist in variant versions (BWV^2,2a 814a and 815a; BWV³ 814.3 and 815.3) that might not be by Bach.

Throughout these pages, given the similarity between the versions, only version A is given, except in those cases where the movements are fundamentally different between versions.