Bach - Prelude and fugue in E-flat major BWV 552 - Van Doeselaar | Netherlands Bach Society

While Bach was putting together his definitive Clavier-Übung III, he may have had a brilliant idea. Rather then putting his tremendous ’Prelude and fugue in E-flat major’, performed here by Leo van Doeselaar for All of Bach, in the middle, as planned, what if he were to separate them to form the opening of the volume and a surprising finish? In a volume that was essentially devoted to the Trinity, there could have been no clearer statement than this piece, with all its references to the number three. On paper, that is – as Bach and musicians well into the nineteenth century would have found it unusual or even unthinkable that his Clavier-Übung, including prelude and fugue, would ever be played consecutively in a concert. Incidentally, we do not know for certain whether the prelude and fugue were actually created together, even though the similarities are almost too marked to ignore. Read more about these similarities on Recorded for the project All of Bach on September 15th 2020 at Freiberger Dom Sankt Marien, Freiberg, Germany. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel and consider donating We thank MWH4impact foundation for their generous support of this recording. MWH4impact aims to achieve social and cultural impact and joins the Netherlands Bach Society in their mission Bach for All. For the interview with Leo van Doeselaar on the Silbermann organ in Freiberg go to For more information on the Silbermann organ please visit For more information on BWV 552 and this production go to All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material For concert dates and further information go to Leo van Doeselaar, organist Organ: Gottfried Silbermann, 1711-1714 0:00 Prelude 9:59 Fugue