Bach - Chromatic Phantasy, BWV 903

[andhow04]

i like the story behind this familiar piece, which is that it was so popular in Bach;s lifetime, that, although it was unpublished, people passed it around through hand-written copies, and over a dozen copies exist from all over Europe, none of them in Bach's hand-writing. one copy from a student of his apparently says, "Fantasia chromatica" from JS Bach, but i am unnsure if the others are titled.

if my reading is corrrect, only two of these copies have the Fugue appended, meaning the Fugue is not necessarily authentic to the Phantasy. there is a similar situation in the Great G minor organ Fantasy, BWV 542. there however the pairing with the Fugue seems a little more satisfying; in the case of BWV 903 a number of people have commented on the lower quality of the Fugue (which I agree) although it has a dramatic flair, and of course the rare instance of Bach writing in octaves.

but i omitted the Fugue because i don't want to play it again, and history supports that. the Phantasy i use a wide range of modern piano sonorities but everything i do could be done on organ and most of it on a large harpsichord. enjoy