The first book of J. S. Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier) was complete by 1722. 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 composed a paired Prelude and Fugue in each of the 24 keys to demonstrate the viability of the new “equal-temperament“ system, which allows one to play in all keys without producing out-of-tune intervals, as happened with Pythagorean and “mean tone“ tunings. Furthermore, the pieces are as much compositional studies as keyboard works.
Twenty years later, Bach assembled another set of preludes and fugues. 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. Some of the preludes and fugues date from the 1720s. Possibly the most substantial revision for the second book was to No. 3, in C sharp major, which was originally in C major. Fugues Nos. 15 and 17 survive in earlier versions in which they are connected with different preludes than we find in The Well-Tempered Clavier.
There are many musical differences between the works of Book II and those of Book I. The preludes in the second group explore a greater range of forms and styles than do the earlier examples. Most striking are the experiments in the style of the Italian bipartite keyboard sonata, codified by Domenico Scarlatti. Like earlier dance movements, these consist of two repeated sections. Some of the “sonata“ preludes in Book II, such as Nos. 5, 12, and 21, feature a recapitulation of the opening material, while others (Nos. 10 and 15) have parallel closing sections. Prelude No. 17 is an Italian concert-ritornello movement; Nos. 13 and 23 also display concerto traits. The tenth is a two-part invention and Nos. 4 and 14 are ariosos. Those that are clearly derived form dance forms -- No. 5 from the gigue and No. 8 from the allemande -- lack the traditional binary form.
Part toccata, part common Handstück or didactic finger exercise, the prelude rolls smoothly along in an ornamental, galant style. The fugue, in contrast, sounds much more serious. It’s a ricercar in four voices entering in ascending order, based, as is usual with this style of fugal writing, on a slow subject of widely spaced notes. A more animated countersubject accompanies each entry.
Source: Allmusic ().
Although originally written for Harpsichord. I created this Arrangement of the Fugue in B Major (BWV 892 No. 2) Transposed to Bb Major for Brass Quartet (Bb Trumpet, Flugelhorn, French Horn & Euphonium).
1 view
61
12
3 weeks ago 00:03:02 1
J S Bach “Allegro“ BWV 998 transcribed and performed by Marco Tamayo
3 weeks ago 00:08:32 1
И.С. Бах - Токката и фуга ре минор, BWV 565. София Кипрская (Арфа)
3 weeks ago 00:08:52 1
Johann Sebastian Bach ; Toccata & Fugue in Dm, by Sinfonity
3 weeks ago 00:04:06 1
Mozart: Requiem – Lacrimosa | SO & GC | CM Berlin
3 weeks ago 01:06:48 1
Bach. 5 Organ Masterpieces | Бах. 5 органных шедевров | Bach. 5 Meisterwerke der Orgel
3 weeks ago 00:02:13 1
B&B PROJECT - BACH FUGUE IN D MINOR [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
3 weeks ago 01:32:45 1
Emil Gilels - Live in Moscow 1 - Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn - 1983
4 weeks ago 00:13:42 1
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - 6 Fugues, Op. 17
4 weeks ago 00:12:11 1
XAVER VARNUS PLAYS BACH’S TOCCATA & FUGUE IN THE BERLINER DOM
4 weeks ago 00:07:51 1
- Toccata & Fugue BWV 565 - 11 String Guitar
4 weeks ago 00:05:37 1
Bach - Prelude and fugue in C minor BWV 549 - Koopman | Netherlands Bach Society
4 weeks ago 00:34:15 1
Syn Absence - Realm Of Hate (Full Album) 2024
4 weeks ago 01:13:52 1
Callum Mclachlan | Leeds International Piano Competition 2024 | Semi-Final
4 weeks ago 00:08:42 1
Toccata and Fugue in D minor rock version by AI | AI Music
4 weeks ago 00:03:35 1
Bach - Toccata In D Minor (Cover by B&B project)
4 weeks ago 00:10:55 1
J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor on the glass harp (музыкальные бокалы)
4 weeks ago 00:05:29 1
SONOR Artist Family: Steve Smith - TEMPUS FUGUE IT (Bud Powell)