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Bach, Johann Sebastian : Prelude und Fuge Nr.24 Prelude Nr.24 h-moll

Work Overview

Music ID : 62156
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:pieces
Total Playing Time:3 min 30 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (1)

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: July 17, 2023
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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.

Bach's works in B minor are more frequently encountered than those in B major. Many of Bach's pieces in B minor, such as the Inventions, Sinfonias, and French Suites, tend to progress rhythmically. The left-hand part of this prelude employs a compositional technique known as Walking Bass, which was popular during the Baroque era.

In this prelude, two voices are superimposed on the walking bass. It should be played at a walking pace, neither too slow nor too fast, progressing without interruption. Now, the upper two voices sometimes feature half notes that need to be sustained; if the walking bass is too loud at such moments, it will obscure these sustained notes. Therefore, care should be taken not to make this bass line too prominent.

Furthermore, regarding the treatment of the upper two voices, this is the author's personal and subjective advice: if these two voices are assumed to be soprano and alto, then allowing these two parts to be independent and heard as complete two-part polyphony is, in my opinion, essential for preserving the order of polyphony. By making the soprano brilliant and the alto gentle in tone, the voices will become independent; please do try this. If observing the repeats, it might be interesting to reverse the prominent voices in the second iteration. For example, emphasizing the soprano in the first repeat and the alto in the second.

Now, are you aware of the difference between Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 and Book 2? In Book 2, many preludes feature repeat marks. This is a crucial distinguishing feature between Book 1 and Book 2. Incidentally, in Book 1, this Prelude No. 24 is the only one with a repeat.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou
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