Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 875

Last updated

The Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 875 is a keyboard composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the sixth prelude and fugue in the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier , a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. [1]

Contents

Prelude

Beginning of Prelude Prelude in d minor bwv 875.jpg
Beginning of Prelude

The prelude has 61 bars and is in 3
4
. It is made up of running semiquavers and quavers. [2] The piece was originally composed as a moto perpetuo, probably inspired by Antonio Vivaldi. The figuration is similar to that of a violin piece, particularly in an earlier revision of the prelude, Preambulum d-Moll, BWV 875a , which does not include the demisemiquavers in bars 22, 24, etc. in the final version. Despite this, the basic structure has remained the same: binary form, with the main theme restated in the dominant in bar 27. [3]

Fugue

Beginning of Fugue Fugue in d minor bwv 875.jpg
Beginning of Fugue

The fugue has 27 bars, is in common time and is in three voices. [4] The subject's structure is similar to that of the theme of The Musical Offering, opening in triplet semiquavers moving diatonically then quavers moving chromatically. They are later accompanied by the ordinary semiquavers of the countersubject, which make the fugue constantly switch between duple and triple rhythms, even more often than the D major prelude. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Orgelbüchlein</i> Set of musical compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Orgelbüchlein BWV 599−644 is a set of 46 chorale preludes for organ — one of them is given in two versions — by Johann Sebastian Bach. All but three were written between 1708 and 1717 when Bach served as organist to the ducal court in Weimar; the remainder and a short two-bar fragment came no earlier than 1726, after the composer’s appointment as cantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig.

The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538, is an organ piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. Like the better-known BWV 565, BWV 538 also bears the title Toccata and Fugue in D minor, although it is often referred to by the nickname Dorian – a reference to the fact that the piece is written without a key signature – a notation that leads one to assume the Dorian mode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Étude Op. 25, No. 12 (Chopin)</span>

Étude Op. 25, No. 12 in C minor is the last of Frédéric Chopin's formal studies for the piano, opus 25, dedicated À Madame la Comtesse d'Agoult. It was first published in 1837 in French, German, and English. In the first French edition, the time signature is 4/4, but most recent editions of this piece follow the manuscript and German editions, which indicate cut time. This work is a series of rising and falling arpeggios in various chord progressions from C minor. In addition, its opening bars recall the chord structure of the opening bars of the second prelude of the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543</span> Composition for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708–1713).

<i>Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht</i>, BWV 105

Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht, BWV 105 is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 July 1723. The musicologist Alfred Dürr has described the cantata as one of "the most sublime descriptions of the soul in baroque and Christian art".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes</span> Organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The works form an encyclopedic collection of large-scale chorale preludes, in a variety of styles harking back to the previous century, that Bach gradually perfected during his career. Together with the Orgelbüchlein, the Schübler Chorales, the third book of the Clavier-Übung and the Canonic Variations, they represent the summit of Bach's sacred music for solo organ.

<i>The Well-Tempered Clavier</i> Collection of keyboard music by J.S. Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, clavier referred to a variety of stringed keyboard instruments, most typically the harpsichord or clavichord, but not excluding the organ, although it is not a stringed keyboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532</span>

Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532.2, is a prelude and fugue written for the organ c. 1710, and has an approximate duration of 11+12 minutes. BWV 532.1 is an earlier version of the Fugue.

<i>Clavier-Übung III</i> Collection of organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–36 and published in 1739. It is considered Bach's most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for that instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014–1019</span> Works by J. S. Bach

The six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord BWV 1014–1019 by Johann Sebastian Bach are works in trio sonata form, with the two upper parts in the harpsichord and violin over a bass line supplied by the harpsichord and an optional viola da gamba. Unlike baroque sonatas for solo instrument and continuo, where the realisation of the figured bass was left to the discretion of the performer, the keyboard part in the sonatas was almost entirely specified by Bach. They were probably mostly composed during Bach's final years in Cöthen between 1720 and 1723, before he moved to Leipzig. The extant sources for the collection span the whole of Bach's period in Leipzig, during which time he continued to make changes to the score.

The Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 861, is No. 16 in Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, keyboard music consisting of 24 preludes and fugues in every major and minor key.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548</span>

Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime between 1727 and 1736, during his time in Leipzig. The work is sometimes called "The Wedge" due to the chromatic outward motion of the fugue theme. Unlike most other organ preludes and fugues of Bach, the autograph fair copy of the score survives, though the handwriting changes twenty two measures into the fugue to the hand of Johann Peter Kellner, a likely pupil and acquaintance of Bach who played an important role in the copying of his manuscripts. Because of the work's immense scope, it has been referred to as "a two-movement symphony" for the organ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849</span> Keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849, is a pair of keyboard compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the fourth prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ Sonatas (Bach)</span>

The organ sonatas, BWV 525–530 by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six sonatas in trio sonata form. Each of the sonatas has three movements, with three independent parts in the two manuals and obbligato pedal. The collection was put together in Leipzig in the late 1720s and contained reworkings of prior compositions by Bach from earlier cantatas, organ works and chamber music as well as some newly composed movements. The sixth sonata, BWV 530, is the only one for which all three movements were specially composed for the collection. When played on an organ, the second manual part is often played an octave lower on the keyboard with appropriate registration. Commentators have suggested that the collection might partly have been intended for private study to perfect organ technique, some pointing out that its compass allows it to be played on a pedal clavichord. The collection of sonatas is generally regarded as one of Bach's masterpieces for organ. The sonatas are also considered to be amongst his most difficult compositions for the instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ concerto (Bach)</span>

The organ concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach are solo works for organ, transcribed and reworked from instrumental concertos originally composed by Antonio Vivaldi and the musically talented Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar. While there is no doubt about the authenticity of BWV 592–596, the sixth concerto BWV 597 is now probably considered to be spurious. Composed during Bach's second period at the court in Weimar (1708–1717), the concertos can be dated more precisely to 1713–1714.

Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Major, BWV 848, is a keyboard composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the third prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer.

Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855, is the 10th prelude and fugue for keyboard (harpsichord) in the first book of The Well Tempered Clavier, composed in 1722 by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Prelude in E minor, BWV 855a, features as No. 18 ("Praeludium 5") in the 1720 Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. BWV 855a may also refer to both this Prelude and a Fughetta in the same key, an early version of BWV 855. Alexander Siloti made a piano arrangement in B minor of the Prelude BWV 855a.

The Harpsichord Concerto in E major, BWV 1053, is a concerto for harpsichord and string orchestra by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the second of Bach's keyboard concerto composed in 1738, scored for keyboard and baroque string orchestra. The movements were reworkings of parts of two of Bach's church cantatas composed in 1726: the solo obbligato organ played the sinfonias for the two fast movements; and the remaining alto aria provided the slow movement.

The Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871, is a keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the second prelude and fugue in the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. It was composed in 1738.

The Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874, is a keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the fifth prelude and fugue in the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. It was composed between 1739 and 1742.

References

  1. "BWV 875". Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  2. "Prélude No. 6 BWV 875 in D minor | Sheet music for Piano". MuseScore . Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  3. 1 2 Schulenberg, David (1992). The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach. MacMillan Publishing Company. pp. 209–210. ISBN   9780028732756. LCCN   91039348.
  4. "Fugue No. 6 BWV 875 in D minor | Sheet music for Piano". MuseScore . Retrieved 2018-05-28.