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Music and Transfiguration

A Chance Discovery

Over the weekend, I chanced upon Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G minor BWV 535. It is not one that I ever remember hearing before, but I have become quite attached to this piece. It has proven to be quite an interesting and fun piece to study and full of all kinds of compositional goodies. Most striking is the middle part of the prelude. Chromatically descending diminished seventh chords and fundamental sevenths create a tonally ambiguous section more typical of late Romanticism than Baroque music. Just another reason why the 19th century theorist Ebenezer Prout referred to Bach as the prophet of music, anticipating many techniques of the Romantic composers. Also interesting is the motivic connection between the fugue and prelude. The fugue subject actually makes it first appearance, albeit in a disguised form, in the pedals near the beginning of the prelude. The accompanimental counterpoints of the fugue (there is no countersubject in this case) are frequently formed from the scale passages of the prelude.

But, these are just a few points of interest after only a little study. I'm sure there is much more to be learned with further investigation. Prout was also correct in stating that studying Bach was like reading the Bible. Every time you return to it, you notice something you never had before.