Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544: Difference between revisions
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==External Links== |
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*{{IMSLP|work=Prelude_and_Fugue_in_B_minor,_BWV_544_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)}} |
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* [http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/detail.php?ID=BWV0544 Free download of BWV 544] recorded by [[James Kibbie]] on the 1724–30 Trost organ in Stadtkirche, Waltershausen, Germany |
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{{Instrumental music by Johann Sebastian Bach}} |
{{Instrumental music by Johann Sebastian Bach}} |
Revision as of 05:40, 2 September 2019
Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime during his tenure in Leipzig (1723–1750). Unlike most other organ preludes and fugues of Bach, the autograph fair copy of the score survives.[1] Because of the deeply melancholic nature, the B minor affekt, and musical elements of the work, its respective movements are believed by some to have been performed as a prelude and postlude alongside the B minor Cantata Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl, BWV 198, which was performed on 17 October 1727 at the University Church in Leipzig as a funeral ode for Christiane Eberhardine, wife of August II the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.[2] There is, however, no definitive evidence to back this hypothesis.[3]
Prelude
Tightly woven 32nd note scales, suspensions, dramatic octave pedal effects, tension-building through repetition, and appoggiatura harmonies characterize this movement. The opening theme is followed by contrasting fugal episodes. The complex ritornello structure of this prelude makes the work structurally similar to that of other mature organ works, such as the BWV 548 and BWV 546 preludes.
Fugue
The 4/4 fugue is more restrained compared to the 6/8 prelude, containing a relatively straight-forward subject that moves in single note steps up and down the B minor scale.
Arrangements
Piano transcriptions
The piece has been included in Franz Liszt's transcriptions of Bach's six "Great" organ Preludes and Fugues, BWV 543 - 548, for solo piano (S. 462). The piece was also transcribed by Ivan Karlovitsch Tscherlitzky.[4]
References
- ^ Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 autograph facsimile at International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP).
- ^ Williams 2003, 97.
- ^ Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 at Netherlands Bach Society
- ^ List of Bach-Tscherlitzky piano transcriptions at Bach-Cantatas.com
Work Cited
Williams, Peter (2003), The Organ Music of J. S. Bach (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-89115-9
External Links
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 Description at Allmusic
- Free download of BWV 544 recorded by James Kibbie on the 1724–30 Trost organ in Stadtkirche, Waltershausen, Germany