Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874

The Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 874, is a keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the fifth prelude and fugue in the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer. It was composed between 1739 and 1742.^[1]

Prelude

The prelude's autograph is missing, probably due to conditions. The prelude consists of 56 bars and uses a double time signature of cut time and ¹²
₈ time, which gives rise to two performance issues: if the dotted quaver and semiquaver pairs should be played at the same time as the triplet quavers (such as in bar 10); where most commentators think they should be, and if the quavers in bar 2 should be played as triplets; where most commentators think they should not be.^[2]

The prelude's structure follows that of sonata form, having a 16-bar exposition, a 24-bar development, and a 16-bar recapitulation.^[3] Below are the first 2 bars of the prelude:

Fugue

The fugue is in cut time and consists of 50 bars. Its subject consists of a motif of three quavers and two crotchets repeated twice. It seems similar to a stile antico, though the structure is modern, with expositions and episodes alternating throughout the fugue. Moreover, the structure uses many modulations, including the modulation to A major in bar 20 and F-sharp minor in bar 27. After the latter modulation, the fugue returns to the tonic key of D major. Unlike the typical sonata form, instead of a recapitulation, Bach uses a series of close strettos, the last of which contains subject statements from all four voices in bar 44.

The episodes of the fugue are in a canonic texture, and in these episodes, the motif grows from six notes in bar 7 to eight notes in bar 16, to a two-octave descending scale in bars 38–40. While the fugue is in cut time, the notes used are mainly crotchets and quavers, rather than minims and crotchets, to suggest that the piece should be lively in performance.^[4] Below are the first two statements of the fugue's subjects:

$\language "english" { << \new PianoStaff << \new Staff = "RH" \relative c'' {\key d \major \time 2/2 R1 | << {R1} \\ {r2 r8 a a a} >> | << {R1} \\ {d,4 fs~ fs8 b, e d} >> | << {R1} \\ {cs8} >> } \new Staff = "LH" \relative c {\key d \major \clef bass \time 2/2 << {r8 d' d d g,4 b~} \\ {R1} >> | << {b8 e, a g fs4 d} \\ {R1} >> | << {r8 fs b a gs2} \\ {R1} >> | << {a4} \\ {R1} >>} >> >> }$

References

^ "The Well-Tempered Clavier II No. 5 in D major – Bach". www.bachvereniging.nl. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
^ Ledbetter, David (2002). Bach's Well-tempered Clavier: The 48 Preludes and Fugues. Yale University Press. p. 255. ISBN 9780300128987. LCCN 2002109926.
^ Keller, Hermann (1976). The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. Translated by Gerdine, Leigh. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. pp. 146–147. ISBN 9780047860058.
^ Schulenberg, David (1992). The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach. MacMillan Publishing Company. p. 209. ISBN 9780028732756. LCCN 91039348.

v t e Compositions for organ, keyboard and lute by Johann Sebastian Bach
Organ	Fugue in G minor, BWV 131a (doubtful) Sonatas, BWV 525–530 Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 531 Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 Toccata and Fugue in D minor ("Dorian"), BWV 538 Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540 Fantasia and Fugue in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542 Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546 Prelude and Fugue in E minor ("Wedge"), BWV 548 Eight Short Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553–560 (doubtful) Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562 Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564 Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (doubtful) Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in E major, BWV 566 Fantasia ("Pièce d'Orgue") in G major, BWV 572 Fugue in G minor ("Little"), BWV 578 Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 Concertos, BWV 592–597 Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599–644 Schübler Chorales, BWV 645–650 Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668 Chorale partita Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769 Neumeister chorales, BWV 1090–1120 Chorale fantasia Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128
Keyboard	Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801 English Suites, BWV 806–811 French Suites, BWV 812–817 Partitas, BWV 825–830 No. 2 No. 4 No. 6 Overture in the French style, BWV 831 Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893 Book 1 No. 1 in C major No. 2 in C minor No. 3 in C♯ major No. 4 in C♯ minor No. 7 in E♭ major No. 10 in E minor No. 16 in G minor No. 21 in B♭ major No. 22 in B♭ minor Book 2 No. 1 in C major No. 2 in C minor No. 3 in C♯ major No. 4 in C♯ minor No. 5 in D major No. 6 in D minor No. 12 in F minor No. 13 in F♯ major No. 18 in G♯ minor No. 22 in B♭ minor No. 24 in B minor Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 906 Toccatas, BWV 910–916 Six Little Preludes, BWV 933–938 Italian Concerto Harpsichord solo concertos Goldberg Variations discography Gould recording Aria variata alla maniera italiana Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother
Lute	Suite in G minor, BWV 995 Suite in E minor, BWV 996 Bourrée Suite in C minor, BWV 997 Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ major, BWV 998 Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000
Mixed collections	Clavier-Übung III: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major ("St. Anne"), BWV 552, Chorale preludes, BWV 669–689, Duets, BWV 802–805 Concerto transcriptions, BWV 592–596 and 972–987 Klavierbüchlein W. F. Bach Notebook A. M. Bach Twelve Little Preludes
List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach List of concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach

This page was last edited on 10 May 2024, at 02:02

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Prelude

Fugue

References