The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, is a collection of two series of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by johann sebastian bach. Complete score of the welltempered clavier, book 1, by johann sebastian bach open welltempered clavier project. A proper analysis of js bachs welltempered clavier is therefore simply a must for anybody who takes playing the 48 seriously. The welltempered clavier wikipedia republished wiki 2. Preludes and fugues the welltempered clavier, by j. Prelude and fugue in f minor, from welltempered clavier book i johann sebastian bach.
The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, is a collection of two series of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys, composed for solo keyboard by johann sebastian bach. What is the significance of the welltempered clavier. Chopin ballades all rachmaninov prelude in bb op 23 no 2. Bachs welltempered clavier a video for the curious but it is also very complex music, with many voices doing many things at the same time. Aside from the two meanings of fugue in english the musical thing and the psychological thing, fugue has a third meaning in french. For example, the rhythmic patterns used in british and french. Bachs welltempered clavier has been analyzed from almost every angle imaginable, yet it has not often been studied from the position of discovering what forces influenced bach while he was writing it. The welltempered clavier, or preludes and fugues through all tones and semitones, relating to the major third, that is, ut re mi, as well as those related to the minor third, that is, re mi fa. The prelude and fugue in c major, bwv 846, is a keyboard composition written by johann sebastian bach. Analysis js bachs music combines two elements, namely a high degree of formalism and complexity with utmost beauty.
In the german of bachs time clavier was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding an organ either. Internal evidence for this may be seen in the fact that in book 1 bach paired the. Mathieu giraud1, richard groult2, and florence leve2,1. It is the first prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. Bachs welltempered clavier indepth analysis and interpretation siglind bruhn.
Weve begun with the well tempered clavier the prelude and fugue in cminor from book 1. It explores the intricacies of each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys and constitutes the largestscale and mostinfluential undertaking for solo keyboard of the baroque era. Prelude and fugue in c minor, from the welltempered clavier, books 1 answers real and tonal the second statement of the subject in a fugue, usually pitched a fifth above the subject or a fourth. The two sets of 24 preludes and fugues book 1 dating from 1722 and book 2 from 1742 had pedagogical objectives. The c minor prelude from js bachs welltempered clavier, book 2. Clavier is enigmatic, it demonstrates well the formal principles james tenney proposes, namely that form can be understood in terms of the shapes and structures of a works constituent components.
Through studying the preludes and fugues of book 1. Glenn gould piano, albert schweitzer liner notes, henry parker photography. Book 1 and book 2 of the well tempered clavier are 2cds each not full cds though, so only the 4cd set contains the complete work. Well tempered clavier how to start read 14144 times fleetfingers. The well tempered clavier, book one, prelude and fugue no. Some of the links listed below are not yet open to the public, given that this website is work in progress. My question is related to the structure of the fugue of this particular fugue as well as of fugues in general, which is not clear to me. Barenboim, daniel well tempered clavier book 1 amazon. Which published edition of this work would you all recommend for me so that i can get the fingering right. The welltempered clavier is a great example of how much variety is possible to achieve in this genre. The best way for me to do this is to prepare a simple basso continuo bc pattern, which uses all major, minor and dimchords of the scale. Not the best edition ever, but fairly readable, as they dont try to cram too much onto a page like some older editions. Below find a link to the discussion of the individual pieces of the welltempered clavier book i and a short overview of their degree of technical difficulty. Great analysis, but my god what a phenomal interpretation by the pianist.
Bach, the welltempered clavier, book i, fugue no 11. Many performers touch the first aspect only briefly and focus on the flow of the music, to be able to express the inner beauty of the work. These preludefugue pairs cycle through all 24 possible major and minor tona. A detailed guide that analyzes the structural, harmonic and thematic frame of the prelude and the fugue. The well tempered 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. The fugue is believed to have developed from the canon which appeared during the th century. Prelude and fugue in f minor from welltempered clavier. The final measures of johann sebastian bachs fugue no. 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.
Do not touch book 2 until you feel confident with all in book 1. This is especially true for the longer pieces, only few can really understand those in detail merely based on musical instinct and talent i, for instance, cant. Model answers for the works in book i bwv 846869 i 1 prelude and fugue in c major. The fortyeight preludes and fugues that make up the two books of the welltempered clavier were compiled at two different timesthe first book in 1722 while bach was in. The fugues of the welltempered clavier is a site that provides interactive multimedia analyses of book i and portions of book ii of the wtc by johann sebastian bach. In bachs 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 welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, is a collection of two sets of preludes and fugues in. Note that every pepper location is abiding by all federal, state, and local regulations regarding covid19, as well as cdc guidelines. Free sheet music for the complete 48 preludes and fugues of the well tempered clavier by j.
It was in fact written in 174550, and in imitation of bachs example. The welltempered clavier, book i, preludes and fugues 18. Temporal gestalt analysis and principles of form and. Hearing and understanding everything that is going on is not straightforward, and it is not something that can be achieved just by listening, even after many repeat listenings. Barenboims bach has a refreshing old world quality, reflecting his rounded tone, moderate tempos, and emphasis on harmonic tension. The fugue also has its roots from the ensemble chansons of the 16th century as well as the ricercari of the 16th and 17th centuries. Here, we describe a novel, scorebased exploration of the use of pitch height. His works such as the brandenburg concertos are known for their technical depth and artistic beauty. Please stop by at a later time to find more material available. Bach, johann sebastian, mieczyslaw horszowski welltempered clavier book 1 music. For example, the piece that ends the cycle of book 1, the great bminor fugue, is so chromatic and convoluted that it shocks the modern ear with its complexity.
The welltempered clavier, book 1 bwv 846869 the welltempered clavier 1 is a collection of educational pieces with exceptionally high artistic contents. It is the first prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier. Subject and countersubject detection for analysis of the well. Book i preludes and fugues 18, a classical music album by glenn gould. He was born on or near march 21 1685 and died on july 28, 1750. In bachs 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. Indepth analysis and interpretation, volume i paperback october 1, 1993. The well tempered clavier book 1 scrolling youtube. Welltempered clavier, book 1 by kimiko ishizaka, released 19 march 2015 1. My comments refer to the kalmus edition of bachs the welltempered clavier, edited by carl czerny. In the german of bachs time clavier keyboard was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding an organ either.
In thomas manns novel lotte in weimar an old goethe muses on the achievements of his youth and of his maturity the former the work of genius, the latter the work of greatness. In some of the areas, the fingering is driving me crazy. Released 14 january 1963 on columbia masterworks catalog no. We now introduce some notions about fugue analysis see for example 3,27 for. Current plans include recording the entire welltempered clavier book one on the piano in a temperament other than equal. This is the only twovoice fugue in either book of the wtc. In its whole, the welltempered clavier delves into some of the most complicated and compelling counterpoint ever written. The prelude consists of 3 periods and the fugue is divided into enunciation, modulatory and recapitulatory sections.
Ive read your extremely useful article, how to learn a fugue, and i have started to practice the fugue accordingly. In bachs time clavier keyboard was a generic name indicating a variety of keyboard instruments, most typically a harpsichord or clavichord but not excluding an. Pianist kimiko ishizaka has received extensive critical praise for her 2015 recording of j. Each book contains 24 relatively free, improvisatory preludes, each of which precedes a fugue. The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, collection of 48 preludes and fugues by johann sebastian bach, published in two books 1722 and 1742. On the 24 fugues of the first book of bachs welltempered clavier, the algorithm. Played on a replica of an 18thcentury harpsichord, with a big sound but not much range, this treatment of the preludes is interesting but gruff, writes andrew clements.
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