Prelude and fugue in C minor
BWV 549 performed by Ton Koopman
Stadtkirche St Wenzel, Naumburg, Germany
Behind the music
For the feet
A young composer plays with style
Composing as a trade is a case of observing, trying it oneself and, who knows, maybe eventually surpassing. The complexity of counterpoint and its rules – and breaking those rules! – demands practice and a good dose of intuition. That is evidently something the young Bach thoroughly enjoyed, in this prelude and fugue as well.
The pieces can be dated to around 1705-6. The twenty-year-old organist had already been working for a couple of years at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt. It had been a formative but restless period, of which we read about difficult job performance talks and even a brawl. The things going on in Bach’s curious mind are audible in his works: echoes of Böhm, Bruhns, Fischer, and Buxtehude as well. The renowned journey on foot to Lübeck to visit the latter old master in person also took place in this period.
The sources for BWV 549, however, date from much later. It is therefore unclear which version Bach played and notated himself. The pair of works exists in a C minor version, which may not be by Bach, and an early, possibly original variant in D, numbered BWV 549a. When the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis was compiled, this latter source had not yet been discovered. The two versions roughly correspond, although the details of each source differ.
The prelude, in particular, is all about leg work. A virtuoso pedal solo introduces a questioning motif, on which Bach elaborates in the manuals – keyboards – supported by sustained bass notes. The fugue has a remarkably long, infectious theme, which is presented quite plainly in sequence, alternated now and then with a bit of free style. There is a long wait for the pedal, until its first entry immediately heralds the end of the formal counterpoint. From then on, we hear a sort of free fantasia leading up to a surprising finale.
- BWV
- 549
- Title
- Prelude and fugue in C minor
- Instrument
- organ
- Genre
- organ works
- Year
- ca. 1705-1706
- City
- Arnstadt
With support from
Dr. Edgar von Hinüber
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
Translation
Credits
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- Release date
- 19 September 2024
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- Recording date
- 13 September 2020
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- Location
- Stadtkirche St Wenzel, Naumburg, Germany
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- Organist
- Ton Koopman
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- Organ
- Zacharias Hildebrandt, 1746
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- Director and editor
- Robin van Erven Dorens
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- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt
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- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
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- Camera
- Robin van Erven Dorens, Onno van der Wal
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- Lights
- Ernst-Jan Thieme
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- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
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- Interview
- Robin van Erven Dorens, Marloes Biermans
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- Producer
- Jessie Verbrugh
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- With support from
- Dr. Edgar von Hinüber
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