Kleine Gigue in G for Piano

A dance of interlocking voices

The title promises a little gigue, but the page is full of overlapping lines, rests, ties and chromatic turns. The opening figure first sounds alone, then finds itself surrounded by other voices. Its lively compound metre needs to remain audible through that busy conversation. The piece is less about a melody floating over an accompaniment than about several lines keeping their identity at once.

At the keyboard

Find the opening idea each time it enters, and practise hearing it inside the fuller texture. Sing one line while playing the others slowly. Make a clear distinction between held notes, detached notes and rests; they do different work here. Before increasing speed, check the hand changes and register shifts so that practical movements do not interrupt the dance.

Music in this edition

1. Kleine Gigue in G for Piano