The word “Courante” is based on the French verb “courir”, meaning “to run”.  The “courante” movement of the Suite is typically classified as a fast, jogging movement. It is often characterized by a noticeable departure from the gentle and stable rhythms we’ve come to know and love in the earlier movements. The Courante movement sets a multitude of new characteristics that new listeners have to come and get used to. The eighth-note upbeat is a solid and articulated G that is repeated at each measure with a solid upbeat allowing for a harmonically functioning tonic to be developed. The movement then continues in triple meter, with a deceitful “waltzing” sensation. This meter continues to stress the idea of the lively movement throughout the course of the first half.  The key of G that the movement settles in also continues to produce the beautiful, mellow and resonant sound that the cello is so known for.

Throughout the movement, Bach finds strategic ways to write discreet contrasts in his music. One of the ways he does this is by the use of slurs in the cello. In string instruments, a slur is when a bow does not change direction when changing notes, automatically causing the notes to sound connected or “slurred”.  He writes in slurs occasionally to contrast with the jumpy eight-note motif that we see right before the sixteenth runs. These constant differing motifs create a very interesting texture that helps outline the piece and provides the dance-like quality to this courante “French dance”. In Maisky’s rendition of the piece below, he does an especially good job at emphasizing the differences between the slurred sixteenth notes and the staccato eight notes. He does so with the help of two specific elements. For one, years of training has toned his wrist to the point that a change of bow and rearticulation could easily be missed if one weren’t watching. He also uses dynamics as a sort of distraction to pawn the human ear away from the changing patterns.

In terms of more advanced music theory analysis, Bach also chooses to do something very interesting with his cadential structures. The first part of the movement ends with a perfect authentic cadence in G major, the tonic of the movement. However, instead of allowing for the piece to return to the tonic, he finishes the second half in e minor, the relative minor to G major with an imperfect authentic cadence. The piece is also very unique in its usage of musical counterpoint, with multiple phrases and ideas constantly intersecting with one another.