Johann Sebastian Bach
Menuet G dur BWV Anh. 114
Overview
Long known worldwide as "Bach's Minuet," this piece has been identified through modern research as the work of Christian Petzold (1677-1733). Petzold was organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden and a respected musician of his time. In 1979, musicologist Hans-Joachim Schulze revealed that this minuet was part of Petzold's Suite in G major, correcting a 250-year-old misattribution.
The piece appears in the "Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach" (1725), a collection J.S. Bach compiled for his second wife, which led to the long-held belief that Bach composed it. After losing his first wife Maria Barbara to illness, Bach married Anna Magdalena, a soprano singer at the Cöthen court. The notebook, created as teaching material for his wife and children, contains works by various contemporary composers including Petzold and Couperin alongside Bach's own compositions.
Written in G major with a 3/4 time signature, this minuet is often performed alongside its companion piece in G minor (BWV Anh. 115), offering a delightful contrast between bright major and melancholic minor keys. In 1965, American girl group The Toys transformed the melody into a 4/4 pop hit called "A Lover's Concerto," which reached No. 2 on the US Billboard chart and sold over two million copies worldwide.
For performance, keep the touch light and elegant. Originally composed for harpsichord, avoid overly dramatic expression. Slightly detach the quarter notes to create the characteristic lightness of a minuet. Feel the notes from beat two through the next bar's downbeat as a single unit to bring out the dance's natural forward momentum. Ornaments should follow Baroque conventions, beginning on the beat rather than before it. Grace notes are played within the rhythm, not rushed before the main note as in Romantic-era practice. If ornaments prove challenging, they can be omitted initially and added gradually as you become more comfortable.
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