(Part 1) Unit 2: The Well-Tempered Clavier Flashcards
Define:
Tierce de Picardie
A common mannerism in the Baroque era that concluded a work written in a minor key with a tonic triad containing a raised third
List the following for The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1:
Genre and composition date
Solo keyboard music
Book 1: 1722, Book 2: 1742
In “The Well-Tempered Clavier”, what does “well-termpered” mean?
Refers to the (then) newly invented tuning system for keyboard instruments that allowed for pieces to be written in any key
In “The Well-Tempered Clavier”, what does “clavier” mean?
German word for any keyboard instrument other than organ
List the structure of the two books of “The Well-Tempered Clavier” (2)
2 books, each containing 24 preludes and fugues organized in pairs of parallel major and minor keys
Each book starts with preludes and fugues in C major/minor, going up by chromatically by half step, ending with B major/minor
List the key, form, tempo, meter, and texture of Prelude and Fugue in B flat major, BMV 866
B flat major Incorporates aspects of binary form No specific indication on score (style implies quick tempo, in the manner of toccata) 4/4 time Homophonic and polyphonic
Define:
Toccata
A very fast keyboard work demonstrating a virtuosic, improvisatory character
In Bach’s Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 1-2, ______-chord passages played in breathless ______-______ notes and treated ____________
Broken
Thirty-second
Sequentially
In Bach’s Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
What key does measures 1-2 end on?
F major (dominant key)
True or False:
After ending on F major, measures 1-2 proceeds immediately to the next section
True
What section is measures 1-2 in Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866?
Section A
In Bach’s Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 11-13, it continues the _______-like style with rapid _______-like runs that emerge from arpeggiated _______ chords
Toccata
Cadenza
Seventh
In Bach’s Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
Does Section B require virtuosity throughout?
Yes
What section is measures 11-13 in Prelude in B flat Major BMV 866?
Section B
In Bach’s Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
Section B’s _____________ style contrasts with the __________ order demonstrated in the _____ that follows
Improvisatory
Controlled
Fugue
List the key, tempo, meter, texture, number of voices, and type of answer in the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866
B flat major Moderately fast (Bach gave no tempo indications anywhere in the score) 3/4 time Polyphonic texture 3 voices Tonal answer
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
How many countersubjects are presented simultaneously through the fugue?
Two
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
What is the purpose of the two countersubjects?
Act as accompanying figures to the statements of the subject or answer
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 1-5, _______ in _ ____ _____ is presented in the ___ voice
Subject
B flat Major
Top
True or False:
The subject in B flat major presented by the top voice in the Fugue is unusually long
True
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
How motives does the subject consist of? What are they?
Comprises two motives
First is mostly disjunct outlining the tonic-dominant seventh harmony
Second is conjunct, outlining the same harmonies
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 5-8, _____ _______ in ______ voice (_ _____)
Tonal answer
Middle
F major
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 5-8, what is in the top voice?
Countersubject 1
In the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866:
In measures 9-13, subject is in ____ voice, countersubject 1 is in the ______ voice, countersubject 2 is in the ___ voice
Bass
Middle
Top
True or False:
In measures 9-13, there is a redundant entry of the tonal answer in the middle voice in m. 12
False, there is a redundant entry of the tonal answer in the upper voice in m. 13
List the events that take place in the middle section of the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866 (4)
First episode leads to G minor
The subject appears in G minor followed by a tonal answer in C minor
The second episode leads to E flat major
A partial (two-measure) entry of the tonal answer in m. 35 is interrupted by a complete entry in E flat major in m. 37
What is the complete entry in E flat major in m. 37 of the Fugue known as?
False stretto
List the events that take place in final section of the Fugue of the Prelude in B flat Major, BMV 866 (2)
Concludes with a tonal answer reaffirming the home key of B flat major
Final four measures act as a coda bringing the fugue to a strong close
