The sixteenths roll upward, then downward, passing from the right hand to the left... Perhaps because of its perpetual motion this Prelude has been characterized as a bravure piece... Well, it is not... It is a work strongly influenced by lute-writing... Not that of the sixteenth century-flexible, wavy, wandering- but that of the end of the eighteenth century, that of an Ernst Gottlieb Baron or Sylvius Weiss (to whom Wilton Mason has devoted extensive studies) . We are certain of Bach's fondness for the lute... (See Wanda Landowska's commentary for a Treasury of Harpsichord Music) . He knew thoroughly the technique and resources of this instrument which he taught to his pupils and for which he wrote solo pieces and notable parts in the St. John Passion and the Trauer-Ode, among others...
The Fugue is a summit of workmanship, achieved, however, without using all the devices of counterpoint... The subject advances with solemn strides which impose from the beginning the nature of the whole Fugue -majestic and full of jubilation...
Bach wrote down this Prelude in two different notations -in common time and alla breve... The London autograph is alla breve...An example of the most perfect writing for two voices,the Prelude reminds us of the Inventions... Often I am asked by my pupils, 'Which of the two voices should be brought out? ' I answer, 'Both.' Indeed,in this soulful Prelude each note of each voice should be brought out with expression...Here lies the diffuculty for interpreters educated in the manner of the romantic music,where melody prevails...
And now the Fugue...It startles us by its vigor and spirit...Compare the design of the subject with that of Fugue XI, Book I, and see the striking rhythmic similarity...Is it not a dance? Could it not be a passepied,the dance which Mme. de Sevigne describes so beautifully in one of her letters (August 12,1671) ?
We are reminded at this point that the young Bach had heard French instrumental ensembles at the court of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,whose wife, Eleonore Desmier d'Olbreuse, was a native of Poitou...
Yes, it is probably a passepied,and as in Fugue XI, Book I, this French dance becomes a robust,vigorously accented Landler,when felt by the Thuringian peasant that Bach was...
Would not one expect Bach to end this prodigious work, The Well-Tempered Clavier,with a dazzling display of his skill in counterpoint? But indeed no...Here is the last Fugue,deceptively carefree and entrancing in its apparent simplicity... Yet underlying all is Bach's consummate artistry...
'...Chopin, Bach'ın 24 Prelüd ve Füg'ünü beğenir ve tümünü ezbere çalar, konserlerine de öyle hazırlanır; verdiği piyano derslerinde de Bach'ı temel alırdı...'
'...bazı müzik tarihçileri, Bach'ın bu eserleri bestelerken elinin altında klavsen bulunmasına pek ihtiyaç duymamasından yola çıkarak, Köthen yıllarında yaptığı gezilerde, tümüyle bir teori ödevi gibi eserini tasarladığını belirtirler... Hatta eserin ilk düşüncelerinin bestecinin Köthen'deki görevine başlamadan önce, Weimar'da tutuklu olduğu günlerde ortaya çıktığını iddia edenler de vardır...'
Prelude and Fugue in XXIII in B Major
The sixteenths roll upward, then downward, passing from the right hand to the left... Perhaps because of its perpetual motion this Prelude has been characterized as a bravure piece... Well, it is not... It is a work strongly influenced by lute-writing... Not that of the sixteenth century-flexible, wavy, wandering- but that of the end of the eighteenth century, that of an Ernst Gottlieb Baron or Sylvius Weiss (to whom Wilton Mason has devoted extensive studies) . We are certain of Bach's fondness for the lute... (See Wanda Landowska's commentary for a Treasury of Harpsichord Music) . He knew thoroughly the technique and resources of this instrument which he taught to his pupils and for which he wrote solo pieces and notable parts in the St. John Passion and the Trauer-Ode, among others...
The Fugue is a summit of workmanship, achieved, however, without using all the devices of counterpoint... The subject advances with solemn strides which impose from the beginning the nature of the whole Fugue -majestic and full of jubilation...
Prelude and Fugue in XXIV in B Minor
Bach wrote down this Prelude in two different notations -in common time and alla breve... The London autograph is alla breve...An example of the most perfect writing for two voices,the Prelude reminds us of the Inventions... Often I am asked by my pupils, 'Which of the two voices should be brought out? ' I answer, 'Both.' Indeed,in this soulful Prelude each note of each voice should be brought out with expression...Here lies the diffuculty for interpreters educated in the manner of the romantic music,where melody prevails...
And now the Fugue...It startles us by its vigor and spirit...Compare the design of the subject with that of Fugue XI, Book I, and see the striking rhythmic similarity...Is it not a dance? Could it not be a passepied,the dance which Mme. de Sevigne describes so beautifully in one of her letters (August 12,1671) ?
We are reminded at this point that the young Bach had heard French instrumental ensembles at the court of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,whose wife, Eleonore Desmier d'Olbreuse, was a native of Poitou...
Yes, it is probably a passepied,and as in Fugue XI, Book I, this French dance becomes a robust,vigorously accented Landler,when felt by the Thuringian peasant that Bach was...
Would not one expect Bach to end this prodigious work, The Well-Tempered Clavier,with a dazzling display of his skill in counterpoint? But indeed no...Here is the last Fugue,deceptively carefree and entrancing in its apparent simplicity... Yet underlying all is Bach's consummate artistry...
Wanda Landowska
Lakeville,Connecticut,September 1954
'...Chopin, Bach'ın 24 Prelüd ve Füg'ünü beğenir ve tümünü ezbere çalar, konserlerine de öyle hazırlanır; verdiği piyano derslerinde de Bach'ı temel alırdı...'
'Jigoku' (1960)
Nobuo Nakagawa
'...bazı müzik tarihçileri, Bach'ın bu eserleri bestelerken elinin altında klavsen bulunmasına pek ihtiyaç duymamasından yola çıkarak, Köthen yıllarında yaptığı gezilerde, tümüyle bir teori ödevi gibi eserini tasarladığını belirtirler... Hatta eserin ilk düşüncelerinin bestecinin Köthen'deki görevine başlamadan önce, Weimar'da tutuklu olduğu günlerde ortaya çıktığını iddia edenler de vardır...'
'...Beethoven loved this music so much that he took the pains to copy out the entire two books by hand, all 48 pieces! '