Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 531
Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 531, is a prelude and fugue in C major, written for the organ c. 1707.[1]
Composition
Unlike most of his other organ preludes and fugues, the Prelude and Fugue in C major was written when Bach was in Arnstadt.[2] Once he arrived there in 1703, he immediately fell in love with the Neue Kirche (now renamed in commemoration to Bach the Bachkirche.) He would secure his job as church organist at the Neue Kirche a few weeks after playing in the church.[3] It is here where he met his future first wife, Maria Barbara Bach.
Structure
Prelude
In the prelude, the first 9 measures are played with solo pedals alone, with a recurring sixteenth-note figure culminating in an unusual for the time pedal trill. The manuals then come in with a sixteenth-note figure. In the twenty-sixth measure, a 5 measure phrase of diatonic parallel sixths in the manuals and a pedal tone in the pedals occurs. In the 38th measure to the end of the Prelude, the right hand plays a fast, fantasia-like passage, with fast descending scales culminating in a loud C major chord.[4]
Fugue
The fugue begins with the subject in the soprano voice, with the entirety of the subject being in sixteenth notes. The subject is two measures long. The alto voice is then introduced, transposed down a fifth. Then, the subject is introduced in the tenor voice, down a fourth. In this fugue, the pedals never play the subject as it was originally introduced in the soprano voice, but only as a fragment.[4]
References
- ^ "BWV 531 Prelude and Fugue C-Major".
- ^ "Bach in Arnstadt - Kulturbetrieb Arnstadt".
- ^ "Arnstadt". Archived from the original on 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 531: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Free download of BWV 531 recorded by James Kibbie on the 1717 Trost organ in St. Walpurgis, Großengottern, Germany
- v
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- 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
- Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801
- English Suites, BWV 806–811
- French Suites, BWV 812–817
- Partitas, BWV 825–830
- 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
- Suite in G minor, BWV 995
- Suite in E minor, BWV 996
- 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
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