Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430 ("The Harmonious Blacksmith")

The nickname 'The Harmonious Blacksmith' was not given by Handel and, according to well-documented accounts, only appeared in the early 19th century, likely linked to a Bath music seller named William Lintern who had trained as a blacksmith and was known for performing this piece. The suite's four movements follow a Prelude, Allemande, and Courante, but it is the final movement that made it famous: a clear, symmetrical Air followed by five variations that each add a new layer of rhythmic activity, with each variation giving the running notes to a different hand or combination of hands. The final variation sets both hands in racing thirty-second notes that mirror each other, closing with a descending E major scale and a firm perfect cadence.

What to listen for

Track how the variations build by adding faster note values: the first variation puts rapid sixteenth notes in the right hand while the left holds the harmony, the second reverses this, and successive variations combine both hands in triplets and then thirty-second notes. Notice how the original Air melody remains audible beneath the figuration throughout, rather than being replaced by it. The fifth and final variation is the most physically demanding, with both hands exchanging scale runs in tight succession before the decisive closing cadence.

Recommended rendition

Richard Lester's complete Handel harpsichord suites on Nimbus Records has been frequently cited for its clarity and idiomatic ornamentation in this repertoire.

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