The subject introduces all pitches of the f major scale. 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 majorminor pairs. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading fugue in. Fugue in c minor, bwv 847 news newspapers books scholar jstor. I need some help analyzing the prelude in c maj from bachs wtc book 2. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Second, the theme features a dramatic and expressive leap of a minor 9th the big jump upwards between the 2nd and 3rd notes. Great unity of character is given to this fugue by the deriva. It is the fourth prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. He had written a total of 48 pieces scattered throughout 2 books. Also, inversions are found in key spots within the piece, and also create a. Bach fugue 16 in g minor, bwv 861 analysis johann sebastian bachs fugue 16 in g minor is an example of a conventional fugue. Bach s c minor fugue bwv 871 from the second book of the wtc offers an excellent example of three contrapuntal techniques. It is interesting to hear how kimikos interpretation of the piece evolved from 20.
The notable arrest of all motion at the neapolitan sixth chord in bar 286 brings this section to a dramatic. The structure is more reminiscent of a twopart invention than a fugue, but the line between these is somewhat blurry. His fugue in c minor was written in the middle years of his life, 1722. Prelude and fugue in f major, bwv 856 from wtc i a guide. Bachs c minor fugue bwv 871 from the second book of the wtc offers an excellent example of three contrapuntal techniques. Ausra motuzaitepinkeviciene prelude the prelude and fugue in c major from the wtc i are a very complex set of two pieces which reveals bachs mastery of harmonic and contrapuntal writing. Title praeludium et fuga a 4 voci name translations. Compare the fugue of book i to the kyrie of the bminor mass. Ive read your extremely useful article, how to learn a fugue, and i have started to practice the fugue accordingly. The well tempered clavier was a collection of preludes and fugues in all the keys possible on a keyboard. He was a german composer, during the baroque period.
Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847 bach, johann sebastian movementssections movtssecs. Prelude and fugue in c minor bach had written this piece as part of the well tempered clavier. Musical forms describe how a piece of music is structured. Fugue analysis music theory for the 21stcentury classroom. Bach s minor, with cs i in alto and cs 2 in treble. I want to create a variation on this song, but bachs harmonies are hard to figure out sometimes. The preludes for the most part exhibit simple binary or ternary forms. Right no, i am having trouble with figuring out what the harmonic analysis should be for the 3rd measure of this piece. Bach, wtc i, fugue in e minor matthew saunders blog. The haunting fivevoice fugue in bflat minor has several characteristics which are notable.
Daveconservatoire uses a live performance by kimiko ishizaka from 20 to exemplify various fugal constructions in this video. The symbols of the bach passacaglia by david rumsey. But nowhere is his writing more concise, direct, and intense than in the fugue. Bach fugue in c major from the welltempered clavier, book 2. Not as famous as some other bach organ works, it is the equal of the best. Some of the connections are farfetched, others less so. In the first exposition of a fugue, all of the voices state the.
How bach has composed his fugue in c minor, bwv 847. To discover the harmonic framework, play the first two notes in each half bar together thus. The fugue is written in three parts and has 72 measures. It is the twelfth prelude and fugue in the second book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. The underlying harmonic progression gives a sense of how to shape the constant stream of semiquavers 16th notes. Bachs fugue ii in c minor the welltempered clavier, book i. The cminor fugue, in three voices, is textbook material for learning what a fugue really is.
Fugue no 22 in bflat minor, bwv 867 five voices the. This is the only twovoice fugue in either book of the wtc. What is interesting about this piece is that the body of the fugue is comprised of fragments of. Bach leaps up by a fourth instead of a third, then continues a step higher to tonicize d minor instead of c major. Bach wrote hundreds of pieces for organ, choir, as well as many other instruments. Bachs welltempered clavier are a particularly consistent. My question is related to the structure of the fugue of this particular fugue as well as of fugues in general, which is not clear to me. Passacaglia and fugue in c minor, bwv 582 by johann sebastian bach playing time 14. A detailed guide that analyzes the structural, harmonic and thematic frame of the prelude and the fugue. Prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849 wikipedia. Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847 bach, johann sebastian. One finds several other examples of da capo fugues among bachs leipzig works. The prelude and fugue in csharp minor, bwv 849, is a pair of keyboard compositions by johann sebastian bach.
Johann sebastian bachs fugue 16 in g minor is an example of a conventional fugue. Below is a graph of what happens structurally in the fugue omitting the. The coda contains four partial entries of the subject, in bars 68, 72, 76 and 79. Analysis of bach s fugue bwv 847 in c minor wtc i jose rodriguez alvira 2011 jose rodriguez alvira. While the interval between the composition of the prelude and of the fugue from j. Fugue no 2 in cminor, bwv 847 the welltempered clavier. Prelude and fugue in c minor, bwv 847, is a keyboard composition written by johann sebastian bach. The theme is curtailed to four bars, but a second theme is introduced against it, thus creating a doublefugue. Although bach keeps the arpeggio texture throughout the piece, the prelude is written in five voice texture with. The well tempered clavier, book one, prelude and fugue no. Fugue book 1 c minor is an elegant and well balanced piece, which draws its fascination of its pure structure and the beauty of the interaction between the subject and the countersubjects. Here is the first exposition of fugue 2 in c minor in book i of the j. The constriction on modulation found in the passacaglia is now lifted.
The material within the episodes are a unique to this fugue. Analysis of bach s fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc, book ii jose rodriguez alvira j. It is the second prelude and fugue in the first book of the welltempered clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. Fugues are often viewed as one of the pinnacle forms of. Bwv 576 fugue in g major spurious bwv 577 fugue in g major. A fugue is a contrapuntal composition, where a subject is developed. But smith also finds the bach motif and appearances of the numbers 14 and 41 in the csharp minor fugue. The second group commences at bar 35, in c minor, modulating to e flat. The first group of middle entries bars 22 to 30 begins in g minor, with the subject in the alto, cs i in the treble and cs 2 in the bass.
Between these two poles we have all the other colors first the yellows, oranges and ochre between c minor and d minor, all the shades of blue eflat major to e minor, the greens f major to g minor, pinks and reds aflat major to a minor, browns. Im starting to learn bachs fugue in d major from book 1 of the welltempered clavier. Bachs prelude and fugue in a minor for organ, bwv 543 an alternate version is numbered bwv 543a is probably a product of his years as court organist to the duke of saxeweimar 17081717. Using the analytical questions above, go through j. Bach fugue in c major from the welltempered clavier, book 2 this fugue is fun to play. Analysis of bachs fugue bwv 871 in c minor wtc, book ii. The two biggest potential problems may be 1 confusion of terms and 2 imprecise bracketing. Fugue in c minor is a tale of discovery unlike any youve probably read before.
Fugue in c minor kindle edition by dickinson, vince. The piano score of this piece was first published in 1722 and is part of wtc 1 by bach. Our hero, maxim edgars, starts out the tale recovering from amnesia from a fall putting up christmas lights. First, it is one of the rare fugues with five voices there are two in book 1 of the welltempered clavier, and none in book 2. Click on the link below each diagram to access an interactive version of these analysis, with scores. Prelude and fugue in c minor by aaron pang on prezi. However, if you do want to understand this permutation fugue, you can hardly do better than the fascinating analysis by dr. Downloadable piano sheet music from wtc 1 by johann sebastian bach to print. What is interesting about this piece is that the body of the fugue is comprised of fragments of the subject and countersubject. Bach fugue 16 in g minor, bwv 861 analysis free essay example.
Choose from 164 different sets of fugue bach minor flashcards on quizlet. Prelude and fugue in f minor from welltempered clavier. Fugue in c minor, bwv 575 bach, johann sebastian imslp. Realization of passacaglia and fugue in c minor, bwv 582. Bachs prelude and fugue for organ in c minor, bwv 546 may not be as great as the interval between the composition of the prelude and the fugue from bwv 562 the prelude of that work having likely been written sometime during the 1710s but the fugue possibly as late as 1745, they are nevertheless hardly. Analysis of bach fugue in d minor essay 1942 words. As maxim not max, please note begins to gain his memory he finds that he still is not himself, that theres another, deeper, locked away part of his. Well tempered clavier flashcards and study sets quizlet. Prelude and fugue in c major, bwv 846 from wtc i a guide. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercialnoderivatives 4.
You can hear the later, studio recording of the same piece in this video. The answer follows in the bass, modulating into c 48 analysis of j. For example, the fugue with the theme bach in the art of fugue is called contrapunctus xivperhaps the best evidence. Are there any websitesother resources available that will be useful for me. It is the final incarnation of music first tried out by bach in the harpsichord fugue in a minor, bwv 944, of 1708 or earlier. Learn fugue bach minor with free interactive flashcards. Prelude and fugue, for organ in c details allmusic. Chelsea hicks johann sebastian bachs was born on the 21st of march 1685 and died in 1750. The subject of this fugue consists of eighth and sixteenth notes, which with an exception of the leap of the minor sixth move stepwise up and down.
We have already done some of the analysis in class, but go through it in more detail, answering all of the questions from the text. Bachs fugue in g minor, wtc book i essay 841 words. The prelude and fugue in f minor, bwv 881, is a keyboard composition written by johann sebastian bach. For more information, and discussion on this method and its results, please see the fugues main page and the bibliographical references.
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