Prelude and Fugue in E minor,

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...

548 is a piece of

organ music The organ repertoire is considered to be the largest and oldest repertory of all musical instruments. Because of the organ's (or pipe organ's) prominence in worship in Western Europe from the Middle Ages on, a significant portion of organ repert ...

written by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

sometime between 1727 and 1736, during his time in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. The work is sometimes called "The Wedge" due to the chromatic outward motion of the

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

. Unlike most other organ preludes and fugues of Bach, the

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

fair copy of the score survives,Jones 2013, 58.
/ref> though the handwriting changes twenty two measures into the fugue to the hand of

Johann Peter Kellner Johann Peter Kellner (variants: Keller, Kelner) (28 September 1705 – 19 April 1772) was a German organist and composer. He was the father of Johann Christoph Kellner. Biography He was born in Gräfenroda, Thuringia, and was intended by his pa ...

,Williams 1980, 164. a likely pupil and acquaintance of Bach who played an important role in the copying of his manuscripts. Because of the work's immense scope, it has been referred to as "a two-movement symphony" for the organ.Williams 2003, 119.

History

The autograph manuscript, along with that of the

Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band * Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...

, which is believed to have been written around the same time, share the same

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

and style of handwriting, which points to a composition period of 1727-1731. It has been suggested by

Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...

that the work was composed for the organ at the University Church in Leipzig.

Composition

Prelude

The prelude's massive structure is considered to be one of the most intricate in the genre. It bears a concerto-

ritornello A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. Early history The earliest use of the term "ritornello" in music referred to the final lines of a fourteenth-century madrigal, which were usu ...

style similar to other mature organ works, such as the

BWV 544 The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

and BWV 546 preludes, with the

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

opening theme reoccurring between various polyphonic, episodic sequences.

Fugue

The subtitle of the work, commonly referred to as "The Wedge", refers to the first half of the fugue subject, which opens up as a sort of widening, chromatic wedge around the tonic point. The tradition of descending

chromatic fourth In music theory, a chromatic fourth, or ''passus duriusculus'',Monelle, Raymond (2000). ''The Sense of Music: Semiotic Essays'', p.73. . is a melody or melodic fragment spanning a perfect fourth with all or almost all chromatic intervals fill ...

s in Bach's E minor fugue subjects include the BWV 914 harpsichord Toccata, the BWV 855 Prelude and Fugue from the

Well Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

, Book 1, as well as the "Un poco Allegro" movement from the BWV 528 Organ Sonata. The fugue, clocking at 231 measures, is among Bach's longest and most elaborate organ fugues. The movement is unique in that it is in a three-part structure, with the third

da capo Da capo (, also , ) is an Italian musical term that means "from the beginning" (literally, "from the head"). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is a ...

section being a note-for-note reprise of the first. The second section suddenly thrusts the piece into an over-one-hundred measure episode of rapid, toccata-like passages of great

virtuosity ''Virtuosity'' is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Brett Leonard and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Howard W. Koch Jr. served as an executive producer for the film. The film was released in the United Stat ...

, with the cascading passagework occasionally giving way to the subject. BWV548_Fugue_Subject

Reception

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

described both movements as being "so mighty in design, and have so much harshness blended with their power, that the hearer can only grasp them after several hearings."

Philipp Spitta Julius August Philipp Spitta (27 December 1841 – 13 April 1894) was a German music historian and musicologist best known for his 1873 biography of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life He was born in , near Hoya, and his father, also called Phil ...

referred to the work as a "two-movement symphony", commenting on the work's "life energy" and the "extreme daring" nature of the fugue subject. Peter Williams attributed the work's "riveting power" to the "easily felt balance between the two movements."

Arrangements

Piano Transcriptions

The piece has been included in

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

'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 as well as by

Samuil Feinberg Samuil Yevgenyevich Feinberg (russian: Самуи́л Евге́ньевич Фе́йнберг, also Samuel; 26 May 1890, Odessa – 22 October 1962, Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Biography Born in Odessa, Feinberg ...

Bach Trios Arrangements

The piece has been arranged for

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, and performed by

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, and

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...

respectively for their 2017 album "Bach Trios," released by

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

.Bach Trios
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Yo-Yoma.com
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References

Works Cited

*Williams, Peter (1980), The Organ Music of J. S. Bach: Volume 1, Preludes, Toccatas, Fantasias, Fugues, Sonatas, Concertos and Miscellaneous PiecesCambridge University Press, *Williams, Peter (2003), The Organ Music of J. S. Bach (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, *Jones, Richard D.P. (2013), The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717–1750: Music to Delight the Spirit. Oxford University Press, *Schweitzer, Albert (1935). J.S. Bach, Vol. 1 London: A.C. & Black

External links

*
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548
autograph facsimile at

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki softwar ...

(IMSLP).
Video recording
of Robert Smith's performance on the 1730

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very little is kn ...

organ at the St.-Georgen-Kirche,

Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...

, Germany
Free download of BWV 548
recorded by

James Kibbie James Kibbie (born March 13, 1949) is an American concert organist, recording artist and pedagogue. He is Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan. Biography Kibbie was born in 1949 in Vinton, Iowa, USA. He graduated from Davenport We ...

on the 1755

Zacharias Hildebrandt Zacharias Hildebrandt (1688, Münsterberg, Silesia – 11 October 1757, Dresden, Saxony) was a German organ builder. In 1714 his father Heinrich Hildebrandt, a cartwright master, apprenticed him to the famous organbuilder Gottfried Silberma ...

organ in the

Katholische Hofkirche Dresden Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Dresden, previously the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, called in German Katholische Hofkirche and since 1980 also known as Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis, is the Catholi ...

, Dresden, Germany
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548
description at

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society ( nl, Nederlandse Bachvereniging) is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Frid ...

{{Classical-composition-stub Preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach Fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions for organ Compositions in E minor