Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846
The Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846, is a keyboard composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the first prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. An early version of the prelude, BWV 846A, is found in the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.
Analysis
Prelude
The prelude is 35 bars long and consists mostly of broken chords. Below are the first four bars of the prelude:
The prelude continues like this with different variations on harmony and change of key. The prelude ends with a single C major chord.
Fugue
The fugue is 27 bars long and is written for four voices. It starts with a two-measure subject in the alto voice. The first voice to join is the soprano, which replies with the answer in the dominant key (G major).
The answer is repeated in the tenor and bass voices when they enter. The piece then modulates through various related keys, with the subject being repeated in each of the four voices. The piece eventually ends up back in the home key. It ends with each voice stopping at a note and holding it until the end, forming a C-major chord.
Legacy
Schwencke measure
Some earlier editions of the prelude contain an extra bar between bars 22 and 23 known as the "Schwencke measure", a measure allegedly added by Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke in an attempt to correct what he or someone else erroneously deemed a "faulty" progression (though it may be accidentally corrupted manuscript(s) associated with Schwencke), even though this sort of progression was standard in the music of Bach's time.[1]
However, according to Hermann Keller, "Schwencke was a sophisticated and well-informed musician who was probably not thinking of improving Bach."[2]
Measure 22 contains an F♯ in the bass, which skips to A♭ in measure 23, creating a diminished third; while the Schwencke measure has a G in the bass of a 6
4 (second inversion) minor chord with C as its root borrowed from the parallel harmonic minor. The A♭ may be considered as its enharmonic, G♯, which creates a major second step with F♯, but A♭ functions as an upper leading-tone (parallel natural or descending melodic minor). Franz Kroll may have been the first to question and edit the measure, first in 1862, and the measure does not occur in Bach's student Heinrich Gerber's 1725 manuscript copy.[1] August Halm was also critical of the measure,[3] questioning its logic as early as 1905.[4]
Gounod's "Ave Maria"
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Charles Gounod composed a melody that was designed to be based on the prelude; a setting of that melody to Ave Maria is popular. The edition of the prelude used by Gounod contains the Schwencke measure.[1]
20th century
Arvo Pärt's "Credo" is built around Bach's C major prelude, first unravelling it through the central cacophonous twelve-tone part of the work, then remerging on the piano with the chorus and orchestra joining in harmony for the massive finale.
Mstislav Rostropovich compared this Prelude to the introductory bars of the prelude of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1, in a video named Rostropovich interprets Bach, filmed in 1991 at the Basilique Sainte Madeleine in Vézelay, France.
"Repent Walpurgis", the last track on the debut album by progressive rock group Procol Harum, contains an arrangement of the prelude by band leader Gary Brooker.[5][6]
"Fromage Frais", the sixth track on the band Union Jack's debut studio album There Will Be No Armageddon, is an Acid trance arrangement of the prelude.
Derived works and influence on popular culture
- Douglas R. Hofstadter's "Prelude... Ant Fugue"[7][8] dialogues are explicitly inspired by J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C major.
- Webber's Don't cry for me Argentina is not only based on the Prelude but also on Gounod's Ave Maria adaptation.[9]
- Maurane: Sur un prélude de Bach[10]
- Chava Alberstein, Paprarim barosh (פרפרים בראש)[11]
Further media
Full length audio of the prelude or fugue
Prelude in C major (BWV 846) Performed in Werckmeister temperament Problems playing these files? See media help. | Fugue in C major (BWV 846) Performed on a piano ... ... by Kimiko Ishizaka Performed on a Flemish harpsichord ... ... by Martha Goldstein
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Excerpts
Prelude in C major (BWV 846) Bars 1 to 5 ... ... with comma differences with harmonic seventh | Bars 5 to 11 ... ... with wolf interval Bars 5 to 11 ... ... with comma differences without harmonic seventh Bars 5 to 11 ... ... with comma differences with harmonic seventh
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References
- ^ a b c Barber, Elinore (1970). "Questions to the editor". Bach. 1 (1): 19–22. JSTOR 41639775.
The insertion of the measure shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Bach's skip in the bass from F-sharp to A-flat. It seems unlikely that any knowledgeable contemporary of Bach's would have tried to 'correct' this not uncommon bass progression.
- ^ Keller, Hermann (1965). Das Wohltemperierte Klavier von Johann Sebastian Bach, p. 40. Kassel, etc.: Bärenreiter. ISBN 978-3-7618-0077-5. Quoted in Müllemann, Norbert "On the lookout for the lost measure: Bach's C-major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier I", Henle.de. Accessed: June 8, 2018.
- ^ Rothfarb, Lee Allen (2009). August Halm: A Critical and Creative Life in Music. University of Rochester Press. p. 56. ISBN 9781580463294.
- ^ Lockwood, Lewis; Webster, James; Reynolds, Christopher; eds. (1996). Beethoven Forum, p. 70. University of Nebraska. ISBN 9780803229211. Halm (1905). "Musikalische Logik", Der Kunstwart 18, pp. 486-487.
- ^ Johanson, Claes (2000). Procol Harum: Beyond the Pale. SAF Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-946-71928-0.
- ^ The Foundations of Rock : From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". Oxford University Press. 2008. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-199-71870-2.
- ^ Hofstadter, Douglas R. (c. 2006) [1999]. Gödel, Escher, Bach : an eternal golden braid. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02656-7. OCLC 750541259.
- ^ Hamilton, Andrew; Hofstadter, Douglas R.; Dennett, Daniel C. (January 1984). "The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul". The Philosophical Quarterly. 34 (134): 80. doi:10.2307/2218896. ISSN 0031-8094. JSTOR 2218896.
- ^ Snelson, John (2008-10-01). Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yale University Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-300-12845-1.
- ^ "Maurane - Sur un prélude de Bach Lyrics". musiXmatch. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ פרפרים בראש, retrieved 2022-01-14
Further reading
- Bach, Johann Sebastian. "Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major". The Well Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2. Ed. Saul Novak.[full citation needed]
External links
Interactive media
- BWV 846 Fugue (Flash) - David Korevaar performing
- BWV 846–869 Prelude and Fugue (Flash) at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext David Korevaar, Philip Goeth, and Edward Parmentier performing
Sheet Music
- The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major Sheet Music
- v
- t
- e
- Fugue in G minor, BWV 131a (doubtful)
- Sonatas, BWV 525–530
- Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 531
- Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532
- Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor ("Dorian"), BWV 538
- Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540
- Fantasia and Fugue in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542
- Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544
- Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546
- Prelude and Fugue in E minor ("Wedge"), BWV 548
- Eight Short Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553–560 (doubtful)
- Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562
- Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (doubtful)
- Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in E major, BWV 566
- Fantasia ("Pièce d'Orgue") in G major, BWV 572
- Fugue in G minor ("Little"), BWV 578
- Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
- Concertos, BWV 592–597
- Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599–644
- Schübler Chorales, BWV 645–650
- Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668
- Chorale partita Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768
- Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769
- Neumeister chorales, BWV 1090–1120
- Chorale fantasia Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128
- Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801
- English Suites, BWV 806–811
- French Suites, BWV 812–817
- Partitas, BWV 825–830
- Overture in the French style, BWV 831
- Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893
- Book 1
- No. 1 in C major
- No. 2 in C minor
- No. 3 in C♯ major
- No. 4 in C♯ minor
- No. 7 in E♭ major
- No. 10 in E minor
- No. 16 in G minor
- No. 21 in B♭ major
- No. 22 in B♭ minor
- Book 2
- No. 1 in C major
- No. 2 in C minor
- No. 3 in C♯ major
- No. 4 in C♯ minor
- No. 5 in D major
- No. 6 in D minor
- No. 12 in F minor
- No. 13 in F♯ major
- No. 18 in G♯ minor
- No. 22 in B♭ minor
- No. 24 in B minor
- Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue
- Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 906
- Toccatas, BWV 910–916
- Six Little Preludes, BWV 933–938
- Italian Concerto
- Harpsichord solo concertos
- Goldberg Variations
- discography
- Gould recording
- Aria variata alla maniera italiana
- Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother
- Suite in G minor, BWV 995
- Suite in E minor, BWV 996
- Suite in C minor, BWV 997
- Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ major, BWV 998
- Prelude in C minor, BWV 999
- Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000
collections
- Clavier-Übung III: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major ("St. Anne"), BWV 552, Chorale preludes, BWV 669–689, Duets, BWV 802–805
- Concerto transcriptions, BWV 592–596 and 972–987
- Klavierbüchlein W. F. Bach
- Notebook A. M. Bach
- Twelve Little Preludes