The Prelude and Fugue in F minor,

BWV The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, 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 and the third edition in ...

881, is a keyboard composition written by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. It is the twelfth

prelude and fugue {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A prelude and fugue is a musical form generally consisting of two Movement (music), movements in the same key for solo keyboard music, keyboard. In classical music, the combination of Prelude ( ...

in the second book of ''

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'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

,'' a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer.

Analysis

Prelude

The prelude is 70 bars long, and is written in

binary form Binary form is a musical form in 2 related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance. In music this is usually performed as A-A-B-B. Binary form was popular during the Baroque music, Baro ...

, of which the first half is 28 bars long and ends in A-flat major. The second half modulates through a variety of keys before returning to the home key of F minor. Below is the opening sentence of the prelude: \new PianoStaff << \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c'' \new Voice \relative c' >> \new Staff \relative c >> The first four measures of this sentence have two voices leading the melody in thirds, and another voice leading the bass line. After four measures, only two voices continue. One voice plays the root of a chord, while the second voice plays a broken chord around it. This continues like so for another four measures, and ends with an

imperfect cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999). ''The Harvard Concise Dicti ...

. After this, the sentence is repeated, except modulating to E major at one point and ending on a

perfect cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999). ''The Harvard Concise Dicti ...

. Together, these two sentences create a compound period, and the first part of a small binary. Following the compound period, the second part of the small binary starts. It consists of one voice playing broken chords and two other voices leading a melody, and is eight measures long. A perfect cadence in A major concludes the small binary, and thus ending the theme of the prelude. The prelude ends with a two-measure

codetta In music, a coda (; ; plural ) is a passage that brings a piece (or a movement) to an end. It may be as simple as a few measures, or as complex as an entire section. In classical music The presence of a coda as a structural element in a move ...

, which consists of a perfect cadence in the home key.

Fugue

The

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

is 85 bars long, and is written for 3

voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (1 ...

. Below is the 4-measure subject of the fugue: \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \relative c'' \new Staff >> Just like most fugues in the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period, the subject is then repeated in the middle voice in the

dominant key In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "S ...

(C minor), and then repeated once more in the lowest voice, again in the home key. This final repetition of the subject is followed a small episode that consists of a descending fifths sequence. This is followed by the

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

of the fugue, which has many additional repetitions of the subject in various voices and keys, and occasionally episodes with the same descending fifths sequence as before in between. After the final repetition of the subject in the tonic key, the descending fifths episode is repeated as a

with a

Picardy third A Picardy third, (; ) also known as a Picardy cadence or Tierce de Picardie, is a major chord of the tonic (music), tonic at the end of a musical Musical form, section that is either musical mode, modal or in a minor scale, minor key. This is ach ...

, which concludes the fugue.

References

Sources

*Bach, Johann Sebastian. "Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F Minor." The Well Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2. Ed. Saul Novak.

Interactive media

*BWV 88
Fugue
(Flash) - David Korevaar performing *BWV 846-86

(Flash) at th
BinAural Collaborative Hypertext
David Korevaar, Philip Goeth, and Edward Parmentier performing

External links

*
Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F Minor Sheet Music (PDF)
* http://ekav.info/blog/bach-prelude-fugue-f-minor-bwv881/ {{Authority control The Well-Tempered Clavier Compositions in F minor