J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847 (Synthesized)

Описание: Wendy Carlos / Switched-On Bach Tribute

The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846-893), is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. 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 pastime of those already skilled in this study." Bach later compiled a second book of the same kind, dated 1742, but titled it only "Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues." The two works are now usually considered to make up a single work, The Well-Tempered Clavier, or "the 48," and are referred to respectively as Books I and II. The Well-Tempered Clavier is generally regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of Western classical music.

Musically, the structural regularities of the Well-Tempered Clavier encompass an extraordinarily wide range of styles, more so than most pieces in the literature. The Preludes are formally free, although many individual numbers exhibit typical Baroque melodic forms, often coupled to an extended free coda (e.g. Book I preludes in C minor, D major, and B-flat major).

The Preludes are notable also for their odd or irregular numbers of measures, both as to phrases and as to the entire length of a given Prelude. The best-known piece from either book is the first prelude of Book I, a simple progression of arpeggiated chords which later served as the basis for the Ave Maria of Charles Gounod.

In contrast to the radiant C major set, this first work in the minor key delves into a much darker mood. The prelude is a geometric tapestry of embellished broken chords in a restless, continually repeated pattern: sharp, often dissonant highlights on the emphasised parts of the rhythm and continuous movement in between. The motif consists of running sixteenth notes in the form of broken chords in both hands. At first, the pattern appears to be exactly the same, but on closer visual and aural inspection, it turns out that there are small variations here and there. The coda begins at the 34th bar, where a sudden change of texture and tempo occurs. In the first bar of the coda, an arpeggiated chord is followed by a rapid succession of thirty-second notes. This new motif is repeated twice, after which a succession of sixteenth notes ends the prelude on a picardy third (a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key. This is achieved by raising the third of the expected minor triad by a semitone to create a major triad, as a form of resolution).

After the tight geometry of the prelude, the three-part fugue shows a more varied pattern. It is a fugue without exceptional contrapuntal tricks. Instead, Bach uses a short motif as the basis for practically the whole of his musical tapestry. The first few notes of the theme, heard right at the beginning of the piece, recur recognisably throughout the fugue in all sorts of variations. So alongside the actual fugue theme running through the piece, there are also other little threads as a continual reminder of the theme. Just like the prelude, the fugue ends with a picardy third.

As always, the use of headphones will enhance the listening experience.