New Bach Video Prelude n 7 in E-Flat Major, BWV 852 Pianoteq

[carmelopaolucci]

Dear Friends,

I'm publish this piece to continue my dream of recording the entire Well Tempered Clavier,to achieve this feat, I didn't choose a famous acoustic piano, but simple entry-level digital piano, because I'm convinced that even with "poor equipment" but with a lot of good will, it's possible to overcome the difficulties and achieve appreciable results on a collection that often makes even professional pianists tremble.
The grand piece with strict writing in four voices which figures as prelude, is itself a powerful fugue worthy to be placed by the side of the fugues in C#- minor, Eb-minor and Bb-minor. Who knows whether some passing whim may
not have induced Bach to follow the piece by a second fugue of totally different character. A close examination shows — as indeed Bruyck recognized — a binary, likewise ternary division of the "Prelude" by different tempo superscriptions {Allegro deciso — Poco Andante — Tempo I"^^). In my
opinion the first two sections compose the real prelude (with half close on the dominant), while the third (three times as long as the other two together) is a fugue of considerable development, in reality a double fugue. But again there is a striking relationship between the thematic material of the preluding portion and of this fugue; and this may be seen first in the quiet second section.
It was really fun to study it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[frodo10]

Hello Carmelopaolucci!

Wonderful performance of my favorite prelude of the 48!  I love the work you are doing and I can't help but admire your beautiful "touch and press" technique that allows you to play with effortless control.

Your admiring fan,
Frodo the 10th

[carmelopaolucci]

Thank you so much for your comment and support Frodo !
I try to do my best with Bach pieces, they're really masterpieces, and I'm really happy to have the possibility to study them again after several years.
Greetings from Italy
Carmelo

[frodo10]

Dear Friends,

In my opinion the first two sections compose the real prelude (with half close on the dominant), while the third (three times as long as the other two together) is a fugue of considerable development, in reality a double fugue.

Q: in a fugue, after the statement of the subject, a second voice enters and states the subject with the subject transposed to another key (almost always the dominant or subdominant, with the latter being less common), which is known as the answer. in this bach prelude the answer is not in the dominant or subdominant. the prelude if called a fugue does not appear to be a typical modern fugue but rather more in the old style of a ricercar. i personally do not view it as a fugue.

AI: You are correct to question whether the fugal section of the Prelude in E-flat major, BWV 852 (No. 7 from WTC Book 1), follows the typical conventions of a textbook fugue. The piece's unique structure, including its unusual treatment of the fugal answer, is why some scholars and analysts characterize it more as a ricercar than a standard fugue.

Your personal reading of the piece is well-grounded in an understanding of music history and theory. While the imitative section is technically a double fugue because it has two subjects that are developed fugally, its irregular answer and older stylistic flavor make it less of a textbook example and more of a study in the historical evolution of the form. Bach himself titled the two fugues in his Musical Offering as "ricercars," indicating he was comfortable using the terms interchangeably to describe his imitative works.