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Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) · sheet music

  • Time 3/4
  • Levels 7–9
  • Passages 2

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German baroque (1714–1788). The reading release has 2 passages from this piece at levels 7–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 5–8 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 17–20 at level 9.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125.

  1. Hands together · bars 5–8 level 7
  2. The hardest bars · bars 17–20 level 9

How to play Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125

  1. Tempo:Choose a stately three-beat pulse at which the sixteenth-note turns stay clear; a polonaise should walk with dignity, not hurry.
  2. Hands together:In the opening the hands play the same notes an octave apart, so practice them together from the start and listen for perfect alignment on every sixteenth.
  3. Right hand:In the later passages the right hand outlines chords in quick sixteenths; group each beat by its chord shape so you read harmonies rather than single notes.
  4. Left hand:Once the unison ends, the left hand switches to a stepping bass in eighth notes; keep it even and slightly detached under the busier right hand.
  5. Fingering:Fix one fingering for the G-A-B-flat-A-F-sharp-G turn in each hand and use it every time the figure returns.
  6. Reading:Two flats are in the key signature, but F-sharps and other accidentals appear constantly; scan each bar for raised notes before playing.
  7. Practice:Practice the opening unison bars hands together at a slow tempo, then work the sixteenth-note passages one beat at a time before linking them.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hands drift apart in the octave-unison opening. Fix: Practice it slowly with a metronome, matching fingering patterns in both hands.
  • Playing F instead of F-sharp in the opening turn. Fix: Circle the first F-sharp and say the turn's note names aloud before playing it.
  • Rushing the sixteenth notes and clipping the quarter note that ends each figure. Fix: Count the sixteenths in fours and hold each closing quarter note its full value.

Structure: binary (two repeated sections, with a return of the opening)

The polonaise has two repeated sections. The first states the octave-unison opening idea and its answer in G minor. The second moves through related keys in quicker sixteenth-note figures and ends by bringing back the opening idea in G minor.

A · First section (G minor)
The opening turn figure in bare octaves, answered by short chords and a firm cadence. Reading focus: sixteenth-note turns in both hands at once.
B · Second section
Broken-chord sixteenths in the right hand over a moving bass take the music away from the home key, with more accidentals to read.
A' · Return (G minor)
The octave-unison opening comes back to round off the dance in G minor.

About Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125

This polonaise is No. 19 in the 1725 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, the household music book of Johann Sebastian Bach's second wife. It belongs to a group of two marches and two polonaises, numbered 16 to 19, that are considered early works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Sebastian's son.

Because it was copied into the notebook, the piece also carries a Bach catalogue number, BWV Anh. 125, in the appendix for works not by J.S. Bach. In the catalogue of C.P.E. Bach's own works it is H. 1.4, the fourth of the four notebook pieces. The other polonaise of the group, BWV Anh. 123, is also in G minor.

C.P.E. Bach later inherited the notebook, and it was he who added the inscription naming Anna Magdalena. For pianists today the polonaise is a compact lesson in the galant keyboard style he would go on to master: sharp dance rhythm, quick ornamental figures and clear two-part writing.

  • The polonaise opens with both hands playing the same melody an octave apart, a bold unison start for a small dance piece.
  • The notebook holds two G minor polonaises by C.P.E. Bach, BWV Anh. 123 and Anh. 125, which are easy to mix up.
  • The Anna Magdalena inscription on the notebook was added by C.P.E. Bach after it came to him.

Why the first passage is level 7

That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because a hand covers more than one position, its chords stretch wide, its chords go beyond simple triads, it runs fast figuration.

G minor, two flats, in 3/4. The opening has both hands playing the same sixteenth-note figure an octave apart; later passages split into broken-chord sixteenths over a stepping bass.

Questions about Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125

How hard is Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125 to play?
Its passages grade from level 7 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 17–20 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 5–8 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because a hand covers more than one position and its chords stretch wide.
What key and time signature is Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125 in?
The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German baroque (1714–1788). This polonaise is No.
Can I practice Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 2 graded passages from Polonaise in G Minor, BWV Anh. 125 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Is this polonaise by J.S. Bach or C.P.E. Bach?
It is copied into the 1725 notebook of J.S. Bach's wife and so carries a BWV appendix number, but it is regarded as an early work of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
What is the difference between BWV Anh. 123 and Anh. 125?
Both are G minor polonaises by C.P.E. Bach in the Anna Magdalena notebook. Anh. 125 is No. 19 and opens with both hands in octaves; Anh. 123 is No. 17.
Is C.P.E. Bach's music in the public domain?
Yes. He died in 1788, and free editions of this polonaise, including typeset scores and a scan of the New Bach Edition, are listed on IMSLP.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 2 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 7
bars 5–8 both hands
Level 9
bars 17–20 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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