Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major, BWV 998 explained

Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro in E-flat major, BWV 998, is a musical composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach for Lute or Harpsichord. The piece was written around 1735. The original manuscript with the title "Prelude pour la Luth. ò Cembal. par J.S. Bach" was sold at Christie's on July 13, 2016, for £2,518,500.[1]

Structure

Prelude

The Prelude is similar to many in the Well-Tempered Clavier (the second book of which dates from around the same time as this work), in that it is composed of many arpeggios.[2] There is a pause in the motion when, just before the coda, there is a fermata over a third-inversion seventh chord with a rich suspension. There is a rare example of explicit consecutive fifths in the left-hand of bar 46.

Fugue

The Fugue is one of only three that Bach wrote in ternary form, with an exact repetition of its contrapuntally active opening section framing a texturally contrasting central section.[3]

Allegro

The Allegro is a binary form dance with 16th notes.

Arrangement for guitar

Arranged for guitar, it is usually played in D major with a Drop D tuning. Julian Bream played it in a BBC2 broadcast on television in early 1978 at the All Saints chapel of Wardour Castle. In 1994 he recorded it on his album Bach Guitar Recital.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Christie's, Auction Results, Music manuscripts, Bach.
  2. Web site: Johann Sebastian Bach - Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro in Eb for Lute, BWV998 - Classical Archives.
  3. Web site: A Fugue in Ternary Form by J.S. Bach (BWV 998).
  4. Web site: Bach Guitar Recital. 6 November 2015 . Discogs. July 13, 2017.