For another example of bachs programmatic numerology, see the final fugue of the welltempered clavier, no. The double fugue exhibits some of js bachs most radical voicings in book 1. Prelude and fugue in f minor, from welltempered clavier book i johann sebastian bach. The haunting fivevoice fugue in bflat minor has several characteristics which are notable. A codetta of nearly two bars, suggested by the syncopated rhythm of the subject. First, it is one of the rare fugues with five voices there are two in book 1 of the welltempered clavier, and none in book 2. One needs to click on the piano, in order to get to the performances on organ. Indepth analysis and interpretation, volume i paperback october 1, 1993. In the absense of additional fugal devices such as subject variation or countersubjects, bach develops the narrative from the most natural tension available in a fugue. The prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849, is a pair of keyboard compositions by johann sebastian bach. The welltempered clavier, book 1 bwv 846869 the welltempered clavier 1 is a collection of educational pieces with exceptionally high artistic contents. A general introduction covers topics like the origins of the wtc, the welltempered scale, the clavier at bachs time, the history of the prelude, and the background of fugue composition. The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, collection of 48 preludes and fugues by johann sebastian bach, published in two books 1722 and 1742. The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, is a collection of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by johann sebastian bach.
As a quintessential baroque fugue, bachs d major fugue from book 1 of the welltempered clavier will make for suitable illustration of how to analyze a fugue. Analysis of bach fugue bwv 846 in c major wtc book 1. This course provides an indepth analysis of this remarkable prelude and. Im not nearly gifted enough to play all these pieces, but i love muddling through a small selection and testing my brains musical boundaries which are far too narrow, im the first to admit. From all the works written in the baroque era, no other work has been so wellcherished, frequently performed and. Johann sebastian bach welltempered clavier, book 1. Lossy files have been converted with lame, mp3 vbr v0. I need some help analyzing the prelude in c maj from bachs wtc book 2. He first gave the title to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, dated 1722, composed for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the. Richard atkinson analyzes the amazing counterpoint of the d major fugue from the welltempered clavier, book ii, by j. Subject and countersubject detection for analysis of the well. Prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849 wikipedia. The 8th pfpair of book 1 is unusual in the sense that prelude and fugue are notated in different keys.
Lossless files are 96 khz24bit, compressed with flac. This is a fair use educational commentary that uses a performance. Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 846 in c major wtc i jose rodriguez alvira. Ranking of difficulty of well tempered clavier preludes. In the same bar, alto and bass exhibit parallel octaves bar 39 beat 3, bar 40 beat 1 and 4.
This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercialnoderivatives 4. A4 pages, 600 dpi scan with stamp added showing the printed source. It is also noteable for the smoothness of its voice leading and the tension built throughout its lengthy coda, which accounts for nearly half the entire prelude. Johann sebastian bachs well tempered clavier posts.
Yo tomita the links on this page point to files at yo tomitas welltempered clavier book ii midi page. Then have a look at the two books and do the cmaj, amin, gmaj, emin, fmaj, dmin and so on. Each part consists of twentyfour preludes and fugues, one prelude and one fugue in each of the twelve major and minor keys. If you want a more detailed discussionanalysis of this piece, you could look at. Fugue no 22 in bflat minor, bwv 867 five voices the. This comprehensive, indepth work book on bachs welltempered clavier should be part of every pianists, piano teachers, and advanced piano amateurs library. A proper analysis of js bachs welltempered clavier is therefore simply a. A detailed guide that analyzes the structural, harmonic and thematic frame of. Second, the theme features a dramatic and expressive leap of a minor 9th the big jump upwards between the 2nd and 3rd notes.
The subject is announced in the alto 28 analysis of j. Welltempered clavier, book 1, bwv846869 various arrangements play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. A piano version played by david korevaar, a harpsichord version played by edward parmenti. On the 24 fugues of the first book of bachs welltempered clavier, the algorithm. Hermann keller writes in his little book about the welltempered clavier. It explores the intricacies of each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys and constitutes the largestscale and mostinfluential undertaking for. Bachs and as it begins by leaping from tonic to dominant, the answer treble, bars 3 to 6 is tonal, leaping from dominant to tonic. This prelude is an intentionally simple series of chord arpeggios, walking through some modulations in the vicinity of and returning back to c maj. We start our analysis with the, so to say, entry door into the 48, the well tempered clavier book i, prelude c maj. Js bach, the welltempered clavier book 1, detailed. The voices appear in the exposition in the unusual order of subject answer answer subject. In bach s time clavier was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding an organ either the modern german spelling for the collection is. More information about these sequences can be found there.
Analysis of c sharp minor fugue from bach s welltempered clavier, book i duration. Preludes and fugues the welltempered clavier, by j. It is the fourth prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. Prelude and fugue in g minor, bwv 861 bach, johann. Incidentally, this subject is an example of double dotting or. The best known of bachs clavier works is the famous set of preludes and fugues called the welltempered clavier.
The 14 notes long subject is said to be related to bachs name. Bachs fugue in g minor, wtc book i essay 841 words. The welltempered clavier, book 1, preludes and fugues 1724 glenn gould on allmusic 2007. Bach the well tempered clavier, book i, bwv 846869. Complete score of the welltempered clavier, book 1, by johann sebastian bach open welltempered clavier project.
As you watch, youll see that bach uses stretto more and more, which heightens the tension of the piece. A fugue of unusual construction, in the few entries of the subject, and the very large proportion of episode. The c major prelude from book 1 the first one is probably the easiest for a beginner its actually one of the harder ones to do really well. Analysis of c sharp minor fugue from bachs welltempered clavier, book i duration. An important feature of the fugue is its two pedal points bars 61 to 65, and 76 to 82. It is also said that the subject appears exactly 24 times in this fugue representing the 24 fugues in the first book of the welltempered clavier. In a conventional baroque fugue, the subject is first stated by itself. Richard atkinson analyzes the amazing counterpoint in the astonishingly complex csharp minor fugue from book i of bachs welltempered. Join the pianotv mailing list today to receive exclusive updates and a free ebook.
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