Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 03/22/2000, uploaded on 02/14/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Prelude and Fugue in C minor, from Well-Tempered Clavier Book I   Johann Sebastian Bach

The forty-eight preludes and fugues that make up the two books of the Well-Tempered Clavier were compiled at two different times-the first book in 1722 while Bach was in Köthen and in 1742 in Leipzig. 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 major-minor pairs. The preludes for the most part exhibit simple binary or ternary forms;  a few (Nos. 9 and 12 in Book II) use the old Baroque sonata form well-known in the works of Scarlatti. Quite exceptionally, the Prelude in D of Book II nearly approaches the requirements of the modern sonata form. The fugues range from two to five voices, with three and four being the preferable choices, and employ a wide range of contrapuntal techniques.

The title page of Bach's autograph fair copy (in the possession of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz) states that the Well-Tempered Clavier is a set of preludes and fugues "for the Use and Profit of the Musical Youth Desirous of Learning." Although not published during his lifetime, Bach made use of the Well-Tempered Clavier with his own students, usually lending his manuscript to them and letting them make their own personal copy. These copies were slowly spread across Europe and several later influential composers, most notably Mozart and Beethoven, obtained their own manuscripts of the Well-Tempered Clavier. During the course of the nineteenth century, this remarkable set of preludes and fugue became a cornerstone in the piano literature, a position which it still holds today. As proof of its importance in the literature, the famous nineteenth century music critic, Hans von Bülow, called the Well-Tempered Clavier the "Pianists' Old Testament."

Interesting is Bach's rather general statement on the title page: "for the Use and Profit of the Musical Youth Desirous of Learning." Bach was not specific concerning the subject of his instruction, so it can only be left to assume it is not one specific element, but music in all its aspects that he wished to teach. In the Well-Tempered Clavier, the music student has the most comprehensive and practical instructional manual to harmony and counterpoint, far surpassingly any textbook written on these subjects. From these two disciplines comes the foundation needed for a complete understanding of music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In assuming Bach's only intention was to teach keyboard technique, we fail to recognize the full potential of these forty-eight preludes and fugues.

The Prelude and Fugue in C minor of Book I is one of the most well-known pairs despite that fact it falls in the shadow of its major key counterpart. Like the Prelude in C major, this prelude is also built on a consistent rhythmic pattern and harmonic progressions that regularly change at the beginning of each measure-at least until the closing. A dominant pedal beginning in measure twenty-five drives the music to a deceptive resolution and a recitative-like Adagio passage. Finally, a four bar coda brings the prelude to a close. The fugue is often quoted as a prime example of a tonal answer and fugue with two regular countersubjects. As with nearly all of Bach's fugues, the episodes during the course of the fugue employ intricate canons and sequences that propel the music forward. The fugue concludes with a final statement of the subject, this time alone without the accompaniment of the countersubjects, over a tonic pedal and closes with a Picardy third.     Joseph DuBose

Part of Elena Kuschnerova's all-Bach recital that was released on ORFEO in 2001. Rosette in Penguin Guide 2003/04