Bach - Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major and b-flat minor, BWV 890 & 891 (WtcII)

[andhow04]

Book II is famous for its Preludes, many of which are concert pieces in their own right, and where Bach would explore more "modern" stylistic features, like the binary forms with repeats that can come to resemble Sonatas. the Fugues in Book II are variable, some are recycled older compositions, some are small compared to their prelude, some are really ambitious as the Fugues in Book I.

this pair, B-flat major and b-flat minor, really shows those features

the b-flat major pair is really striking in this way: the Prelude is a very long (with two repeats) and intricate contrapuntal masterpiece resembling a Scarlatti Sonata, except of course in Bach's harmonic language. it has distinct themes, four-bar phrases, a "development" that starts with the closing material of the first section just like in Scarlatti, a very clear recapitulation, and then a harmonic breakdown that precedes a Cadenza; in addition to all that it has some hand-crossing that is reminiscient of Scarlatti but less virtuosic. formally it's really amazing, and the three-part voice writing in 12/16 meter is very difficult to pull off, each voice requiring its own phrasing.

but the fugue is one of the simplest in many ways of all the WTC, a pastoral scene that doesn't have any special devices or complex arrangements. a new countersubject introduced at the second exposition is really three dotted half notes rising stepwise, one per bar. very simple for Bach! but as always about 2/3 of the way through you get one of those unforgettable sequences that he mastered completely. you could write a whole dissertation about fugue sequences from WTC, they are all unique.

then b-flat minor, probably the largest pair in Book II if it is not c# minor. it is definitely one of the most ambitious of all '48'. the Prelude is something quite original, it resembles in many ways a three-part invention, or a trio sonata, or a kind of fugue itself, but there is nothing else quite like it that I know in Bach's keyboard music. the three voices are imitative but he uses devices from all of those forms (invention, sonata, fugue) to develop the music. it's beguiling and mysterious and really quite seductive.

the fugue is giant in every aspect, for instance a key signature that is maybe unusual for Bach, 3/2, which when you subdivide it rhythmically creates really large, very very complex measures. the subject is quite long, containing all the notes of the harmonic minor scale; the countersubject replies with a rising chromatic scale, fillilng in all 12 chromatic pitches. it is one of those handful of fugues where Bach employs every contrapuntal device he can (other ones include d# minor Book I, a minor Book I, C# major book II, E major book II) so you have full expositions on: the recto subject; the recto subject in stretto; the inverso subject; the inverso subject in stretto; stretto with recto and inverso; and at the very end, the 'doubling' of the recto and inverso in stretto, so they each sound twice simultaneously. i am not sure if there is a technical term for that. you see something similar in g minor Book II, where the subject and countersubject are both doubled at the end. also in b-flat minor Book I.

due to the density of this fugue the emotional or spiritual content is harder to get at. it clearly climaxes at the double stretto, which makes quite a racket on the harpsichord, but it is a 101-measure Fugue in 3/2, so one has to really decide what to do before that. i made the choices i made love it or leave it ! i am often inspired by the possibilities of the organ, especially as it relates to brand-new piercing tone colors (preparation and sudden move to another keyboard), and the dramatic power of the swell boxes (crescendi and de-crescendi). so you will hear some of that here.

a lot of words for music! but very inspirational music. enjoy

b-flat major

b-flat minor