BEGINNER
German composer and organist Johann Krieger was one of the most important keyboard composers of his day. Settling in Zittau, he was highly esteemed by, among others, George Frideric Handel. He published two collections of keyboard music – Sechs musicalische Partien and Anmuthige Clavier-Übung – which contain harpsichord suites, organ toccatas, fugues, ricercars and more. Krieger’s contemporaries praised his contrapuntal skill, evident in his extant fugues (hundreds of his works were lost when Zittau was destroyed by fire in 1757).
Playing tips: Find a good pace, and from then on, keep the pulse even, bearing in mind that this is a stately dance. Throughout, the LH almost ‘answers’ the RH, so think of this when working on the interpretation. Some dynamics have been added to the score, but feel…
