Prelude and Fugue in B minor BWV 893 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Part II)

Prelude and Fugue in B minor , BWV 893, conclude part 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier , a collection of preludes and fugues for keyboard instruments by Johann Sebastian Bach .

Prelude

This prelude is a two-part invention . It has survived in two versions, which differ mainly in the time signature : an autograph by Bach in time , the tempo designation Allegro and the theme in eighth notes, and a copy by Johann Christoph Altnikol in time and the theme in sixteenths. The theme wanders through different keys: from B minor to D major, E minor and F sharp minor, and after a half-close with a fermata in bar 55 , it returns to the tonic B minor. The sequencing quarter notes of the upper part in bars 62/63 on a-g sharp-b-a sharp are remarkable . This corresponds to the BACH note sequence , transposed down a semitone.

Gap

In contrast to the B minor fugue from the first part with the twelve-tone theme, this three-part fugue surprises with its light-footed, technically undemanding character. Those who expect a crowning “finale” may be disappointed, on the other hand there are parallels to the joking “Quodlibet” at the end of the Goldberg Variations . As in the F major fugue from Part 1, the dance rhythm is reminiscent of a passepied . One looks in vain for a consistent counterpoint ; instead, more and more piano accompaniment or play figures appear in the course of the piece . The piece contains 100 bars; Ferruccio Busoni interprets the last four bars as a mischievous coda . With this graduation, Peter Benary thinks of a "graceful bow in farewell". Hermann Keller emphasizes the forward-looking character of the last fugue of the Well-Tempered Clavier, and interprets it as the "prelude to the Davidsbündlertänze by Schumann !"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Benary: JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: Text - Analysis - Playback. MN 718, H. & B. Schneider AG. Aarau, 2005. p. 143
2. ↑ Peter Benary: JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: Text - Analysis - Playback. MN 718, H. & B. Schneider AG. Aarau, 2005. p. 145
3. ↑ Hermann Keller: The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach , p. 187  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

literature

• Peter Benary: JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier: Text - Analysis - Playback . MN 718, H. & B. Schneider AG. Aarau, 2005.
• Alfred Dürr : Johann Sebastian Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier . Bärenreiter factory introductions. ISBN 9783761812297 . 4th edition 2012.
• Cecil Gray: The forty-eight Preludes and Fugues of JS Bach . Oxford University Press, 1938.

Web links

• The Well-Tempered Clavier II, Johann Sebastian Bach : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
• Hermann Keller: BWV 893