Johann Sebastian Bach
Four Duets

About Johann Sebastian Bach's Four Duets

Over the better part of a decade Bach published four volumes in a series entitled Clavierübung. The four duets were included in Clavier-übung III, published in 1739. They are two-part inventions on a grand scale, featuring free, expressive motifs, which were added to the collection virtually in the 'last minutes' of publication.

While they are commonly believed to be 'communion music', in the past scholars have offered various interpretations of their significance in the collection; the four elements, four virtues, four gospels, four great prophets, four beasts around the throne (Revelation 4), and four teachings in the small catechism.