Aylesford Pieces No. 10 - Minuet II

About this work

Minuet II, also headed Trio, begins with a melody carried by right-hand chords over a simpler bass. In D major and triple time, the opening does not require every chord tone to stand out equally: the top note shapes the phrase while the inner notes support it.

Play the opening bars with just that upper line and the bass. Then add the inner notes with less weight, keeping the melody’s full duration. This is especially useful when the right hand leaves chords for quavers: the change of texture should not make the phrase disappear.

The score has two repeated sections. Returning to the beginning of either section should preserve the same three-beat pulse, even if the melody is given a slightly different emphasis. Practise each junction by joining the final bar directly to the first. Sustained notes and rests in the inner right-hand voice also need close attention; on the piano, excessive pedal would blur the difference between them. The final fermata allows a broader breath than the smaller articulations along the way.

Score and files

1-page PDF and MIDI. Typeset by Bas Wassink for Mutopia from the Schott edition of 1930; this typesetting is declared public domain.

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