Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 11/21/2006, uploaded on 01/08/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

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

The common practice in Bach's day was to use the mean-tone system for tuning a keyboard instrument which made it impossible to play in all 24 keys. Gradually musicians turned to equal temperament which makes each key tolerable. Thus in 1722 Bach composed the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier which contains 24 Preludes and Fugues written in all major and minor keys.

The Prelude in e minor begins with a slow tempo and represents mourning. In the second half of the Prelude-using the sixteenth note passages in a presto tempo- Bach creates a contrasting mood which leads us into the Fugue. The Fugue is written in two voices. The subject is chromatic and represents the Dies Irae, the one idea carried throughout the piece.  In contrast, the Prelude in Bb Major is composed in an organ style, and provides us with a bright mood of triumph. The Fugue represents the celebration of a new beginning.     Konstantyn Travinskyy

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.