Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

In my search for Bach’s Minuet in G major, I came across its story… and it is a beautiful one so I would like to share :)

Minuet in G major. Google it. When you hear it, I’m sure you’ll recognize it instantly. It’s a well-known and much-loved piece of
music, especially for early grade piano students… ;)

This minuet features in Bach’s 1725 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. Bach wrote two notebooks, both for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, a talented singer who Bach met after being widowed by his first wife. She regularly helped Bach transcribe his music and there’s a theory going around that she too was a possible composer…

French suites, minuets, rondeaux, chorales, sonatas, preludes, musettes, marches, gavottes and polonaises, songs and arias make up most of the notebooks. The 1722 notebook consists of pieces composed by Bach himself. The 1725 notebook comprises works by Bach and other composers of the Baroque era.

Minuet in G major was not written in Bach’s or Anna’s handwriting and it has been since accepted that the piece was composed by and now attributed to Christian Petzold.

This playful tune also has a friend… Minuet in G minor.