It is performed on piano by sviatslav richter, one of the bestregarded pianists of the twentieth century. Prelude and fugue in c major bwv 846 from welltempered clavier. Prelude and fugue in c minor by aaron pang on prezi. As a quintessential baroque fugue, bach s d major fugue from book 1 of the welltempered clavier will make for suitable illustration of how to analyze a fugue. Jan 01, 2014 listen to your favorite songs from bach. The well tempered clavier, book one, prelude and fugue no. In each book, the first prelude and fugue set is in c major, followed by the next in c minor and so they ascend chromatically in majorminor pairs. Our analysis included all 24 preludes and 24 fugues from bachs. In a conventional baroque fugue, the subject is first stated by itself. Prelude and fugue in b minor, bwv 893, is a keyboard composition by johann sebastian bach. Oct 12, 2012 this feature is not available right now.
It is the final incarnation of music first tried out by bach in the harpsichord fugue in a minor, bwv 944, of 1708 or earlier. He had written a total of 48 pieces scattered throughout 2 books. Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc book 2. The second group commences at bar 35, in c minor, modulating to e flat. Albert wong the welltempered clavier, book 2 preludes and fugues nos. The subject of this fugue consists of eighth and sixteenth notes, which with an exception of the leap of the minor sixth move stepwise up and down.
The cminor fugue, in three voices, is textbook material for learning what a fugue really is. Bach s immortal 48 preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys was written for clavier, and in bach s time that could mean any keyboard instrument. You can hear the later, studio recording of the same piece in this video. This fugue has a tonal answer and would be called a tonal fugue. The haunting fivevoice fugue in bflat minor has several characteristics which are notable. Richard atkinson analyzes the amazing counterpoint in one of the most unorthodox and remarkable fugues from bach s welltempered clavier.
In which case you will have to tell us which book as there are two sets. The subject introduces all pitches of the f major scale. Bach was also strongly influenced by the composer dietrich buxtehude, as a youth bach would visit buxtehude in which he would gain an outpour of creativity. At measure 7 the s, cs1 and cs2 are finally all in. Take this example from the csharp minor fugue of book 1 of bachs welltempered clavier. Prelude and fugue in f minor from welltempered clavier. Florida state university libraries electronic theses, treatises and dissertations the graduate school 2004 toward a methodology for the analysis of fugue. Bach, the welltempered clavier, book 1 sviatoslav richter 1969 duration.
S 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. I need some help analyzing the prelude in c maj from bachs wtc book 2. Suzuki now releases bach s second set of 24 preludes and fugues, a keywork in western music and a cornerstone in the repertoire for both piano and harpsichord. Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847, is a keyboard composition written by johann sebastian bach. Johann sebastian bachs fugue 16 in g minor is an example of a conventional fugue.
Prelude and fugue in c minor bach had written this piece as part of the well tempered clavier. Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 847 in c minor wtc i jose rodriguez alvira. Bach, wtc i, fugue in e minor matthew saunders blog. Bwv 847 prelude no 2 in c minor by johann sebastian bach. Chords, melody, and music theory analysis of bwv 847 prelude no 2 in c minor by johann sebastian bach. This exam section asks about a bach fugue from the well. As before, there is no necessary connection between each prelude and its fugue, and some pieces have been transposed from the key in which they were originally. The well tempered clavier book 2 scrolling youtube. Prelude and fugue in f major, bwv 856 from wtc i a guide. However, if you do want to understand this permutation fugue, you can hardly do better than the fascinating analysis by dr. Consider his 1962 interpretation of bachs prelude in c minor from book one of the. The well tempered clavier was a collection of preludes and fugues in all the keys possible on a keyboard. Second, the theme features a dramatic and expressive leap of a minor 9th the big jump upwards between the 2nd and 3rd notes. Prelude and fugue in d major, bwv 874 index of book 2.
Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc, book ii. 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. Daveconservatoire uses a live performance by kimiko ishizaka from 20 to exemplify various fugal constructions in this video. Incidentally, this subject is an example of double dotting or. Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847 bach, johann sebastian. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. I presume you mean the prelude from the 2nd prelude and fugue in c minor.
Countersubject is some sort of extension of this subject. The prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849, is a pair of keyboard compositions by johann sebastian bach. Detecting episodes with harmonic sequences for fugue analysis. There is a short coda from bar 80, founded on the second episode. Bach took the fourmeasure idea from the opening c to g in the excerpt below and expanded it to an eightbar whole that ends on the low c in the organ pedal. It com prises i an entry of answer in alto, with gs i in treble and cs 2 in bass. As opposed to a full orchestral score, in a fugue written for keyboard instrument which is to say with all its voices condensed onto two staves which voice is which is by no means always selfevident. Subject and countersubject detection for analysis of the well. Bachs fugue 38 book ii, 14 f sharp minor three voices.
Prelude and fugue in c major, bwv 846 from wtc i a guide. Using the analytical questions above, go through j. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The form and initial manner of expression may seem oldfashioned, but bach has a surprise in store. Not as famous as some other bach organ works, it is the equal of the best. For more information, and discussion on this method and its results, please see the fugues main page and the bibliographical references. Bach s famous welltempered clavier, recorded for the first time on organ. Bachs welltempered clavier indepth analysis and interpretation. Listen to bach s prelude and fugue in c sharp minor from the welltempered clavier, book i.
The answer follows in the bass, modulating into c 48 analysis of j. Our hero, maxim edgars, starts out the tale recovering from amnesia from a fall putting up christmas lights. Realization of passacaglia and fugue in c minor, bwv 582 by. 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. The two biggest potential problems may be 1 confusion of terms and 2 imprecise bracketing. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercialnoderivatives 4.
There are a total number of 14 entries for list of a detailed analysis of. Prelude and fugue in c major bwv 846 from well tempered clavier by johann sebastian bach. The fugue is written in three parts and has 72 measures. Prelude and fugue in f major, bwv 856 from wtc i a guide to. We have already done some of the analysis in class, but go through it in more detail, answering all of the questions from the text.
Passacaglia and fugue in c minor, bwv 582 by johann sebastian bach playing time 14. Barolsky and martens, rendering the prosaic persuasive. The next animation uses measures 14 to 16 of this fugue to show what is an stretto, augmentation and inversion. Some of the features buxtehude uses are evident in bachs early organ fugues such as the five section prelude and fugue in a. Prelude and fugue, for organ in a details allmusic. Bachs c minor fugue bwv 871 from the second book of the wtc offers an excellent example of three contrapuntal techniques. This is one of bach s most searching, questioning preludes, and imaginative use of the key gives this preludeand fugue pair a harmonic and textural richness. What is interesting about this piece is that the body of the fugue is comprised of fragments of the subject and countersubject. Measure 16 ends with a cadence to e minor, which is reached on the. The welltemperedclavier, book ii wtc 2 french title. The rest is dealt with in her books vol 2, vol 3 and vol 4.
Bach leaps up by a fourth instead of a third, then continues a step higher to tonicize d minor instead of c major. The countersubject is absent on three occasions see analysis. It is interesting to hear how kimikos interpretation of the piece evolved from 20 to 2014, over. 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. Bachs prelude and fugue in a minor for organ, bwv 543 an alternate version is numbered bwv 543a is probably a product of his years as court organist to the duke of saxeweimar 17081717. The last piece of both books is in b minor, which is the key of death. Title praeludium et fuga a 4 voci name translations. It is the 24th and final prelude and fugue in the second book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. Bachs prelude and fugue for organ in c minor, bwv 546 may not be as great as the interval between the composition of the prelude and the fugue from bwv 562 the prelude of that work having likely been written sometime during the 1710s but the fugue possibly as late as 1745, they are nevertheless hardly. Compare the fugue of book i to the kyrie of the bminor mass. This is the only twovoice fugue in either book of the wtc. Great fugue for string quartet, all fugues have fundamental elements in common.
Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc book 2 merlot. Richard atkinson analyzes the amazing counterpoint of the d major fugue from the welltempered clavier, book ii, by j. An examination of selected bach organ works scott roberts follow this and additional works at the fsu digital library. Book 2 of the welltempered clavier was collected from 1738 and probably. The preludes for the most part exhibit simple binary or ternary forms. Prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849 bach, johann sebastian movementssections movtssecs. In bar 15 the answer is exceptional, being real instead of tonal.
Bachs welltempered clavier are a particularly consistent. Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc, book ii teoria. On the 24 fugues of the first book of bachs welltempered clavier, the algorithm. Realization of passacaglia and fugue in c minor, bwv 582.
Although bach keeps the arpeggio texture throughout the piece, the prelude is written in five voice texture with. As maxim not max, please note begins to gain his memory he finds that he still is not himself, that theres another, deeper, locked away part of his. Bach s c minor fugue bwv 871 from the second book of the wtc offers an excellent example of three contrapuntal techniques. Prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849 bach, johann. Other materials like analysis of bach fugue bwv 846 in c major wtc book 1 analysis of bach s fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc book 2 analysis of bach s fugue no 1 in c minor wtc book 1, bwv 847. Between these two poles we have all the other colors first the yellows, oranges and ochre between c minor and d minor, all the.
Fugue c minor fugue book 1 c minor is an elegant and well balanced piece, which draws its fascination of its pure structure and the beauty of the interaction between the subject and the countersubjects. Well tempered clavier flashcards and study sets quizlet. The alteration in the answer, for the sake of tonality, is made from the first note to the second. Prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849 wikipedia. Click on the link below each diagram to access an interactive version of these analysis, with scores.
Fugue no 2 in cminor, bwv 847 the welltempered clavier. Bach, wtc i, fugue in e minor this post is for a friend of mine, who is trying to perfect the art of wooing women using his music theory and analysis skills. The material within the episodes are a unique to this fugue. Like its predecessor, book 2 traverses all the keys of the harmonic system, exploring every tonality during the span of one prelude and one fugue. A detailed guide that analyzes the structural, harmonic and thematic frame of the prelude and the fugue. While the interval between the composition of the prelude and of the fugue from j. The welltempered clavier i by pierrelaurent aimard. The entries are quite regular bass, alto, treble, bars 64, 70 and 76 respectively, but the countersubject is more or less incomplete or varied, and is wanting in bars 70 to 74. Book 1 and book 2 both of which have a prelude no 2 in c minor. Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847 bach, johann sebastian movementssections movtssecs.
This gives way to a triple motet fugue, with its even more solemn primary subject entering first in the tenor, then the soprano and bass. It is the second prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. This is a fair use educational commentary that uses a performance. On this ground, bach produces a passacaglia of twenty variations, followed by a fugue that. To make the harmonic changes a little easier to follow since the music moves along fairly quickly, i simplified the labeling of chords in inversion rom. Reconstructing a bach fugue 25 studies in bachs fugue no. Are there any websitesother resources available that will be useful for me.
The subject or answer may appear in any order, but in bachs fugues the bass voice will often take the last entry. Bach s minor, with cs i in alto and cs 2 in treble. Take special care with the fugue, which begins at 3. Preludes and fugues the welltempered clavier, by j.
The welltempered clavier, book i, preludes and fugues 18 on discogs. Prelude and fugue, for organ in c details allmusic. The first group of middle entries bars 22 to 30 begins in g minor, with the subject in the alto, cs i in the treble and cs 2 in the bass. This exam section asks about a bach fugue from the welltempered clavier format of this section of the exam. Classical guitar lessons auckland with john wakelin mmus, graddiptchg.