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LM 1152 HARPSICHORD

J. S. BACH —THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER: BOOK II: PRELUDES AND FUGUES Nos. 1-8 LM 1152

HARPSICHORD

J. S. Bach—THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER: BOOK II: PRELUDES AND FUGUES Nos. 1-8

Commentaries by

ard pore

Bach’s Fugues and also the Preludes are masterpieces of the science of counterpoint. One cannot enter — it goes without saying —into the world of pure polyphony as casually as into that of the accompanied melody. The Fugue — a high and involved art form — appeals to musicians who know how to listen, to those who are able to single out a voice and detach it from the others, even when that voice happens not to be the subject. For the subject, by its melodic character, its rhythmic contours, its continual reappearance can be discerned, indeed, even by the inexperienced. How-

ever, | am sure that those who are not professionals will not be less happy than the experts. The poetry, the atmos- phere, the intensity of expression, the beauty of the Preludes and Fugues grip, overwhelm, and stimulate us. Let us not be afraid of the supreme contrapuntal science of the Fugues. Be not overawed by the stern appearance and heavy wig of father Bach. Let us gather around him, feel the love,

the noble goodness that flow from each one of his phrases and which invigorate and bind us by ties strong and warm.

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The second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier opens with a Prelude which proudly spreads out the key of C major. Grounded on an organ-point, the upper voice an- nounces a motive in which one would be wrong to see noth- ing but a series of sixteenths. We face, on the contrary, condensed writing where each note has a profound im- portance. Without being strictly polyphonic, this Prelude expands from a single voice into many voices by means of broken chords enriched with passing notes. Three bars before the end, the organ-point reappears and the Prelude concludes in sonorous splendor.

The Fugue I in C major is of an extreme simplicity. It contains none of the devices we might expect after the mag- nificence and refinement of the Prelude. But its dynamism is extraordinary, its gait vehement and yet not feverish. The

close repetitions of the subject compel us. The end is abrupt: a highstrung horse which pulls up short in full gallop. By all means, no allargando! Let us respect the noble pace of a thoroughbred.

The Prelude II in C minor is written entirely in two voices and reminds us of the Inventions. It is divided in two parts by a double bar. The soprano states a motive in sixteenths, sustained by a bass of light eighths. This motive is imitated from the second bar by the bass, while the light eighths go over to the soprano. A chain of progressions follows, filled with mordents which should be played rapidly and lightly

without encumbering the passage work. Modulations lead on to the relative where Bach, with a brief arpeggio, ends the first section. In the second, Bach amuses himself with inversions: the soprano takes back the motive in sixteenths, slightly modified. The bass contradicts it in the following bar, inverting the motive. How teasing this inversion! It surprises us the more since the Fugue which follows is grave and mystical. |

In spite of its condensation, the Fugue II in C minor con- tains a subject in augmentation and inversion, two stretti,

etc... . devices generally found in fugues of greater propor- tions. Its character is inspired by the Magnificats of Pachel-

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bel, precursor and friend of the Bach family. It is Pachelbel who sets the tempo of this fugue.

The Prelude III in C-sharp major — in spite of a missing rest in the alto — is entirely in four parts. The murmur of arpeggios, intermingled with passing notes, continues throughout. Hear the tireless beatings of the tenor and the low repeated notes of the bass which remind us of an in- visible clock marking the hours. The organ-point supports the whole edifice. The Allegro, a light and gracious fughetta of 26 bars—preceded by a broken chord—ends the Prelude.

And here the Fugue itself (II] in C-sharp major) appears, at first restrained, but soon to become triumphant. From the second bar, Bach inverts the subject. Augmentations, diminutions, stretti follow, for Bach is in high spirits and

amuses himself royally. In the midst of indescribable tumult —a tumult governed, needless to say, by the imperious grip of Bach — the eighths roll, the sixteenths rumble, the thirty- seconds crackle. At bar 27, the subject in augmentation thunders in the bass and imposes order in this supreme Fugue.

The Prelude IV in C-sharp minor — three voices from beginning to end — calls for the whine of the oboes d’amore or da caccia. It is crowded with ornaments of every kind: mordents, appogiaturas, fast and slow, etc. . . . which create uncertainty and confusion as to their realization. But hap-

-pily, the paternal foresight of Bach reassures us. Each of these ornaments is made clear by Bach himself in the course of the piece. Thus we can play the Prelude secure in follow- ing Bach’s intentions.

The Fugue IV in C-sharp minor unrolls in triplets. Avoid treating it like a gigue. The mood of this Fugue is uncon-

testably serious and demands not too fast a tempo. The triplets proceed gently but with a certain weight in order to express the value of each note. They should not be hastened.

The fifth Prelude in D major reminds us of the opening chorus of the Christmas Oratorio and of the Allegro from the Ouverture to the Partita for harpsichord in D major No. 4. In spite of the difference in type and time-signature, the same D major, the same powerful drive dominate these three pieces. Jubilant, triumphant, we imagine the Prelude played by trumpets. In this spirit it should be performed. Of vast scope, divided in two sections with a double bar, this Prelude prophesies the sonata-form. Imitations in simi- lar and contrary motions sparkle throughout the piece.

After the jubilation of the Prelude, a meditative Fugue (V in D major). Why this contrast? Bach did it purposely in order to create in this Fugue supreme serenity and plenitude. ‘

The Prelude and Fugue VI in D minor send us again to a world of affinities. The Prelude is a virtuoso piece which imperiously demands the crossed keyboards of the harpsi- chord. Its flow is torrential and reminds us of the Concerto for harpsichord and strings in the same key. Compare the first bar of the Prelude and the first bar of the Concerto’s last movement. Besides, we find in the Prelude as well as

in the first and third movements of the Concerto the most characteristic effects of crossed keyboards, among others, batteries.

The Fugue is grave. The triplets of the subject — as in the C-sharp minor Fugue — flow smoothly but with a certain weight. To understand this Fugue, we must study the Art of Fugue, namely: Contrapunctus 13, Canon alla Ottava, Canon alla Decima, Canon alla duodecima and Fuga a 2 Claviers. There we find, among other resemblances, the flowing trip- lets, the opposition of these triplets to the same binary values, the chromaticism. Study of the Art of Fugue helps us under-

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stand the deep beauty and the Art of Fugue in D minor. Compare the Prelude VII in E-flat major to the Prelude

in the same key from Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro (recorded in the Treasury of Harpsichord Music). We notice how certain tonalities inspire Bach to a particular way of writing which creates bonds between pieces of the same key. This Prelude VII, influenced by the lute style, is a dreamlike soliloquy followed by a concise and powerful Fugue which evokes an a capella choir. In the magnificent episode from the 43rd to the 58th bar, the voices converse with humor. The Fugue concludes in overwhelming joy.

The Prelude VIII in D-sharp minor is divided by a double bar in two parts of nearly equal length. The imitations pass from one voice to the other. Once more, let us be careful

not to play too fast. The sixteenths are intermingled with thirty-seconds, indisputable proof that the tempo is mod- erate, for they must not be rushed but played with a clear and expressive touch. The mood is veiled melancholy. The very nature of this Prelude is revealed by a motive in the last two bars of the first and second sections. A surprise: this motive is a gavotte, a French bergerette of the 18th century.

The Fugue VIII in D-sharp minor is as meditative as that in D major, but the melancholy of the Prelude does not leave us. From the 40th bar, where the theme appears in the bass, Bach introduces clusters of chords which sustain the struc-

ture and give impressive grandeur to the whole, before the final entrance of the theme in the treble.

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The two main biographers of Bach, Forkel and Spitta, are responsible for the assertion that the Well-Tempered Clavier was composed for the clavichord. The clavichord is a small, portable instrument, with a timid and sweet tone. All at- tempts at vigor crush and smother it. What characterizes and gives it its beauty and poetry are the subtle nuances of its varying shades of grey.

The Well-Tempered Clavier, rich, colorful, ever changing, with the broad polyphony of its Fugues arrayed in choirs, how could it be confined to the limited domain of the clavi- chord when Bach had a harpsichord at his disposal? The rich variety of its registers, its sharp outlines and muted whispers, its fluted tones, its shifting sonorities of the coupled keyboards, now deep and golden, now trilling and birdlike, the majestic fullness of its radiant arpeggios made the harpsichord the “Roi-Soleil’”’ of instruments.

The Preludes and Fugues have been recorded in my coun- try home at Lakeville, Connecticut. It is an old-fashioned house whose panelled walls seem particularly favorable to the sonority of the harpsichord.

SIDE 1

Prelude and Fugue No. 1,in C

Prelude and Fugue No. 2, in C Minor

Prelude and Fugue No. 3, in C-Sharp

Prelude and Fugue No. 4, in C-Sharp Minor

SIDE 2

Prelude and Fugue No. 5, in D

Prelude and Fugue No. 6, in D Minor

Prelude and Fugue No. 7, in E-Flat

Prelude and Fugue No. 8, in D-Sharp Minor

PRELUDES AND FUGUES Nos. 1-8

BOOK II:

J. S. BACH —THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER

Printed in U. S. A.

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