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Topic: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ? (Read 5151 times)

m19834

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JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ?

on: September 11, 2008, 02:59:31 PM

I am looking at measure 18 of the fugue in the alto voice, first note of that measure, E(b). This is the fourth note of a subject re-entry (the previous measure beginning it). I have been entering this fugue into a four part notation so I can isolate the voices better, and as I was listening to just this voice on the Sibelius playback, my ear wanted for that Eb to be an E-natural. I looked at the score I am using and it did not read E natural, so I looked into another edition of the music that I have here : "Kalmus" and in that edition there is a footnote indicating that in the "Gerber" edition, that note is in fact an E natural, not an Eb. So, I looked on the remaining PS editions, all of which also have an Eb. My ear badly wants an E natural and apparently in some other edition that I don't have, it is an E natural and not a flat.

Does anybody happen to have any information on this ?

Thanks

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Petter

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Re: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ?

Reply #1 on: September 11, 2008, 03:01:33 PM

You could play both just to make sure.

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m19834

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Re: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ?

Reply #2 on: September 11, 2008, 03:03:53 PM

haha ... well, somehow I don't think that would be any better

. I am tempted to just go with the E natural that my ear wants

...

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pianogeek_cz

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Re: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ?

Reply #3 on: September 11, 2008, 05:10:43 PM

No no no, on the last beat, resp. eighth of bar 17, there's B flat major 7th chord that needs resolution at beat 1 of bar 18. Which is an E flat major 6th chord. Plus, you'll be getting the right cadence from beat 4 of bar 17 to beat 3 of bar 18: beat by beat - tonic (B flat major), subdominant (E flat major), dominant (F major), tonic again with the high B on bar 3 wrapping it up nicely. There's no place for C major in there.

But, first of all, the resolution of the Bb7 has to be there. (At least in a baroque fugue like that. Well, maybe in a sequence you could do it. But that's not the case here.)

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m19834

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Re: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in g minor, WTC bk I -- note question ?

Reply #4 on: October 21, 2008, 09:48:08 PM

Quote from: pianogeek_cz on September 11, 2008, 05:10:43 PM

No no no, on the last beat, resp. eighth of bar 17, there's B flat major 7th chord that needs resolution at beat 1 of bar 18. Which is an E flat major 6th chord. Plus, you'll be getting the right cadence from beat 4 of bar 17 to beat 3 of bar 18: beat by beat - tonic (B flat major), subdominant (E flat major), dominant (F major), tonic again with the high B on bar 3 wrapping it up nicely. There's no place for C major in there.
But, first of all, the resolution of the Bb7 has to be there. (At least in a baroque fugue like that. Well, maybe in a sequence you could do it. But that's not the case here.)

Sorry to bump this thread, but I wanted to thank you for your response. Very helpful

. I guess it's important to remember to consider the whole harmonic picture and not just the individual voice parts !

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