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. Prelude and fugue e minor, bwv 855 well tempered clavier book i. The first book of the welltempered clavier was composed in the early 1720s, with bachs autograph dated 1722. While some fugues c sharp minor, d sharp minor, b minor, g sharp minor book 2 are definitely much harder than others, its not really possible to say that any one fugue is the easiest.
The preludes are from the open welltempered clavier project, and were made using musescore software. The two major primary sources for this collection of preludes and fugues are the london original lo manuscript. Prelude e minor interesting recordings of the p e minor come from gulda who plays the p extremely dry, hantai with beautifully phrased trills, schiff and hewitt. Preludes and fugues the welltempered clavier, by j. The welltempered clavier, book 2, complete preludes and fugues 124 a1. Book ii of her recording of bachs welltempered clavier was made between 1951 and 1954 at her home in lakeville.
The well tempered clavier book 2 scrolling youtube. We know it was intended in some way to acknowledge its predecessor simply because the title page of most copies includes the words zweiter teil part two, though english usage is generally books 1 and 2, but it. 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. Fugue i in c major, bwv 846 well tempered clavier first. For most arrangements, see the separate pages for the individual preludes and fugues.
Nice recorded versions of the e minor fugue come from ashkenazy, janssen, hewitt, stadtfeld and koroliov. Bach well tempered clavier roger woodward 199225 dc. Among classical music connoisseurs, the welltempered clavier book 1 wtc, or the 48 for short is widely regarded as one. 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. Slower numbers, such as the fugue in c sharp minor, have a more linear feel, but again the lines are less vocal than with richter, who somehow seems able to conjure a celestial choir at times.
By building a major and minor diatonic 7 tones scale from each of the 12 semitones, we arrive at 24 keys, the complete circle of fifths, and the number of prelude fugue pairs in each book of the well tempered clavier. Book 2 prelude in g sharp minor perky rhythm, interesting harmonies. Johann sebastian bach fugue 1, c major welltempered clavier, book i, bwv 846. Incidentally, this subject is an example of double dotting or. The first fugue in the welltempered clavier is a beautiful introduction to the world of bachs fugues. 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. Explaining the importance of the welltempered clavier, alexandre prokoudine writes over at libre graphics world. Prelude c minor the c min prelude of book 1 finds a parallel in wilhelm friedemann bachs clavierbuchlein keyboard booklet and, as ledbetter points out, it is quite clearly an exercise to make all fingers of both hands busy which, today, may seem nothing special, but at jsbs time it was a rather modern concept. Tureck adds to the slowest e minor p the slowest fugue i really admire turecks art, but here her choice of tempo appears a bit artificial.
Fugue no 1 in c major, bwv 846 the welltempered clavier. 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. Bach fugue 21 from the well tempered clavier bwv 866 2. The welltempered clavier, or preludes and fugues in every key. The welltempered clavier part i bwv 846869 details g. The title page is missing from the manuscript, but its similarity to the first book of the well tempered clavier led editors to entitle it book ii. Bach worked on the second book over a long period of time, even reworking pieces he had written for other purposes, as he had in the first book. 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.
Piano, pianokeyboard sheet music book by johann sebastian bach 16851750. The well tempered clavier, bwv 846893, collection of 48 preludes and fugues by johann sebastian bach, published in two books 1722 and 1742. Bach gave the present title to the work, which was composed for the use and practice of musical youth eager to learn and for the amusement of those already skilled in this study. Bach, the welltempered clavier, book i, fugue no 2 in c. Bach the welltempered clavier, book i maurizio pollini pn deutsche grammophon 0063702 2 cds. S welltempered clavier the, book 1 landowska 19491951 wanda landowska, who continued to perform and record up to her death in 1959, was renowned as the greatest harpsichordist of the first half of the twentieth century, resurrecting the instrument and taking a scholarly approach to the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Bach composed a paired prelude and fugue in each of the 24 keys to demonstrate the viability of the. Shop and buy well tempered clavier book 1 sheet music. Bachs klavierbuchlein 1720 there is an almost complete collection of prelude and fughetta versions predating the 1722 autograph, known from a later copy by an. Apart from the early versions of several preludes included in w. Such thoughts perhaps passed through bachs mind too when surveying his own keyboard output, and the profound differences in sensibility that distinguish.
Bach wrote hundreds of pieces for organ, choir, as well as many other instruments. Fugues are, by their very nature, the hardest type of composition for a pianist to play well. Choose from 105 different sets of bach fugue prelude flashcards on quizlet. The welltempered clavier, book 1 bwv 846869 the welltempered clavier 1 is a collection of educational pieces with exceptionally high artistic contents. This is in contrast to modern songs which have a melody, usually sung or played by one voice, chords, and rhythm. Customers and visitors can download classical music in high quality flac or mp3 and find out more about classical music. The haunting fivevoice fugue in bflat minor has several characteristics which are notable. 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. A fugue is a style of musical composition where a theme melody is introduced, and then repeated in one or more other voices. Although it was circulated in manuscript form, johann sebastian bachs the welltempered clavier was not published until 1801, some 80 years after it was composed. A direct relationship between the prelude and its fugue, while not readily apparent, is hinted in the longheld durations of the bass in the first ten measures. Jones, richard, jones, richard, bach, johann sebastian.
Complete score of the welltempered clavier, book 1, by johann sebastian bach open welltempered clavier project. The solemn and expressive, recitative character of the melody is reminiscent of bachs passion music. The welltempered clavier, bwv 846893, collection of 48 preludes and fugues by johann sebastian bach, published in two books 1722 and 1742. Difficulty of pieces in bachs welltempered clavier. Book 2 of the welltempered clavier was collected from 1738 and probably completed by 1742, about twenty years after book 1.
Complete score of the well tempered clavier, book 1, by johann sebastian bach open well tempered clavier project. In a conventional baroque fugue, the subject is first stated by itself. In this recording i used the 4th harmonic pedal in resonance position only. There are two volumes entitled book 1 and book 2, and often the abbreviation wtc bk 1bk 2 is used. The first fugue in the well tempered clavier is a beautiful introduction to the world of bachs fugues. The well tempered clavier book 2 scrolling youtube chopin piano concerto no. Some of the preludes and fugues date from the 1720s. This fugue has a subject that uses exactly 24 eighth note pules to reach, in its compass, all 12 semitones.
Nov 30, 2015 the preludes are from the open well tempered clavier project, and were made using musescore software. The fugues are from kyle rothers lillypond engraving. Welltempered clavier, book 1 by kimiko ishizaka in 2012, the japanesegerman classical musician kimiko ishizaka made available to the world an open version of j. The welltempered clavier, book i, bwv 846869 cd 1 bwv 846857 59. Second, the theme features a dramatic and expressive leap of a minor 9th the big jump upwards between the 2nd and 3rd notes. Welltempered clavier, book 1, bwv846869 various arrangements. Johann sebastian bach the welltempered clavier, book 1, bwv 846 869. Prelude and fugue in d major, bwv 874 index of book 2. Welltempered clavier the, book 2 landowska 19511954 wanda landowska, who continued to perform and record up to her death in 1959, was renowned as the greatest harpsichordist of the first half of the twentieth century. By building a major and minor diatonic 7 tones scale from each of the 12 semitones, we arrive at 24 keys, the complete circle of fifths, and the number of preludefugue pairs in each book of the welltempered clavier. Compare the harmonies of the ending with those at the end of chopins c sharp minor study op. The b minor fugue of book 2 refers us back both to the the f major fugue of book 1 which also draws on the rhythm of the passepied, and to the monumental final work in that volume with which it shares a key signature, and sets there a fresh set of associations, both for the dance and for the key of b minor. Learn bach fugue prelude with free interactive flashcards. Every great keyboard composer studied it thoroughly, including schubert, beethoven, chopin, brahms and schumann who advised let the welltempered clavier be your daily bread.
Bachs goldberg variations performed on a bosendorfer 290 imperial piano in berlin. Part 1 of johann sebastian bachs welltempered clavier has survived in a complete. Johann sebastian bach the welltempered clavier, book 1. From all the works written in the baroque era, no other work has been so wellcherished, frequently performed and thoroughly studied than this work of bachs. Bach, welltempered clavier book 1, fugue 2, c minor, bwv. The well tempered clavier, book 1 bwv 846869 the well tempered clavier 1 is a collection of educational pieces with exceptionally high artistic contents. Glenn gould bach the welltempered clavier, book ii. About fugue 21 from the well tempered clavier bwv 866 2 artist.
Woodward is more pianistic in this regard, but in his way just as. Well tempered clavier book 1 by johann sebastian bach. From all the works written in the baroque era, no other work has been so well cherished, frequently performed and thoroughly studied than this work of bachs. Welltempered clavier, book 1 chromatic fantasia and fugue italian concerto, an album by johann sebastian bach, anthony newman on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes.
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