Composition - Prelude & Fugues in B flat major, p. 27-31

Question 1

Listen and answer the following:

Composer
Title of the entire piece

Describe the music.

Answer 1

Composer: JS Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Prelude (part A) from the Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, BWV 866

• very fast broken chord in 32nd notes
• also 32nd note runs
• starts in F flat major and ends in F major (dominant key) and moves to the next section

Question 2

Listen and answer the following:

Composer
Title of the entire piece

Describe the music.

Answer 2

Composer: JS Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Section B of the Prelude portion of the Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, BWV 866

• extremely fast cadenza-like runs
• requires virtuosity (great skills) throughout
• improvisatory style contrasts with the controlled order demonstrated in the fugue

Question 3

Listen and answer the following:

Composer
Title of the entire piece

Describe the music (see the hints below):
- describe the subject
- how many motives (smallest part) does the subject
have and describe each part.

Answer 3

Composer: JS Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier

The fugal Exposition of the Fugue from the Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, BWV 866

The subject in B flat major is a very long and in top voice

The subject has two motives - the first is disjunct and the second is conjunct.

(conjunct = melodies that are mostly stepwise)

(disjunct = melodies that have leaps and change of diretion)

Question 4

Listen and answer the following:

Composer
Title of the entire piece

Describe the music.

Answer 4

Composer: JS Bach

The Well-Tempered Clavier

The Fugue from the Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, BWV 866

• subject in bass voice
• countersubject 1 in middle voice
• countersubject 2 in top voice
• Tonal answer in top voice again

Question 5

What genre is The Well-Tempered Clavier?

Answer 5

solo keyboard music

Question 6

How many books are in The Well-Tempered Clavier?

Answer 6

Two books.

Book 1 - 1722

Book 2 - 1742.

Question 7

What is the significance of the title of “Well Tempered Clavier”?

(so basically, explain what Well Tempered means and what a claiver is)

Answer 7

• “Well-Tempered” refers to a new way of tuning system for keyboard instruments that allowed for pieces to be written in any key
• “Clavier” is a German word for any keyboard instrument other than organ

Question 8

What is the structure of The Well-Tempered Clavier?

Answer 8

• Two books; each book has 24 prelude and fugues organized in pairs of major and minor keys
• Each book begins with preludes and fugues in C major and C minor then moves up chromaticaly by semitone, ending with B major and B minor

Question 9

Provide the mini summary of the Prelude:

Key

Form

Tempo

Meter

Texture

Answer 9

Prelude:

• Key B flat major
• Form uses aspects of binary form (binary = A B)
• Tempo not written out but implies very fast and play like a toccata, a fast keyboard work that has a virtuosic, improvisatory feel
• Meter 4 / 4
• Texture homophonic and polyphonic

Question 10

Describe the Prelude of Prelude & Fugue in B flat major

Answer 10

Prelude in Prelude & Fugue in B flat major

• this is a fast and difficult piece with 32nd notes broken chord

Section A

• There are fequent thirty-second note runs
• ends in F major (dominant) and proceeds immediately to the next section

Section B

• Continue to be fast and contains cadenze-like runs.
• requires virtuosity
• the improvisatory style is in contrast with the orderly fugue