Hornpipe in E minor, Z 685

Purcell's keyboard miscellany — short pieces collected after his early death — sits at the heart of the English Baroque keyboard repertoire. Hornpipe in E minor, Z 685 is one of the most-performed entries: a triple-metre dance with a strongly-shaped melody and the kind of cadential bite that makes Purcell's writing immediately recognisable.

The piece is in E minor and tests three skills the easier Grade 2 pieces don't quite demand: a sustained legato line in the right hand, careful voicing of cadential figures, and an awareness of the modal (rather than common-practice tonal) colour. The hand position stays close to five fingers but with one or two small expansions; the rhythmic structure (triple metre with a hornpipe lilt) needs an inner pulse the student can hold without nudging.

Two pitfalls. First, the cadential figures often get played mechanically — Purcell's cadences need a small breath before resolution, otherwise the line feels pushed. Second, the hornpipe lilt is frequently flattened into a square three; the dance only works with a clear lean toward the strong beat.

The full Purcell keyboard collection is on IMSLP in clean public-domain editions. Hearing the hornpipe on harpsichord, alongside its companion pieces, gives an immediate sense of the right weight and articulation.