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Bach, Johann Sebastian : Sinfonia Nr.4 d-moll BWV 790

Work Overview

Music ID : 22616
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:pieces
Total Playing Time:1 min 40 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (3)

Author : Takamatsu, Yusuke

Last Updated: September 18, 2020
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

D minor, 4/4 time.

Written as a fugue, a characteristic feature of the subject's 'inventio' (invention/conception) is the use of tied suspensions. Beyond its use as the subject, the suspension is also employed motivically in sequential progressions, dominating the entire piece.

At the beginning, the upper voice presents the subject in D minor, and from the second measure, the middle voice responds in the dominant key. This is the technique of 'stretto,' where entries overlap before the preceding voice's subject concludes. From measure 13 in the latter half, all voices—upper, middle, and lower—present the subject in stretto.

Combined in the middle voice in measures 12-13 and the upper voice in measures 22-23 is a descending chromatic motif. This is a figure known as 'passus duriusculus,' frequently used to express sorrow, and it imparts a distinctive character to the piece.

Author : Hayashikawa, Takashi

Last Updated: March 15, 2018
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Translation in Progress

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: March 12, 2018
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Translation in Progress
Writer: Ooi, Kazurou

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