Prelude in F major
BWV 928 performed by Guillermo González García
Maltezerhuis, Utrecht
Behind the music
Story
Story
Extra videos
Extra videos
Credits
Credits
Perpetually in motion
In this little prelude, Bach constructs a musical machine
Bach is one of the most celebrated composers of all time, but during his life he was also regarded as an outstanding teacher. His best pupils were possibly his wife and children, for whom he wrote a number of Klavierbüchlein, or exercise booklets, containing brief pedagogic tips and simple practice pieces. By practicing them, his family learned not only keyboard playing, but also the ins and outs of music theory and composition. In this way, Bach continued the tradition of his musical family, as he himself had been taught by his big brother Johann Christoph.
Around 1720, Bach started work on his first Klavierbüchlein, intended for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, who was to turn ten that year. This Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann is still regarded as one of the classics in the pedagogic genre, and is popular among piano teachers who want to give their pupils a first introduction to Bach’s work. There are more than sixty pieces in the booklet, ordered by level and ranging from the simple Applicatio in C major, BWV 994, to the relatively challenging three-part Sinfonias. The lion’s share was written by father Bach, but some were by other composers and some even appear to be Friedemann himself; blood will tell.
The Prelude in F major, BWV 928, number 10 in the Klavierbüchlein, lasts less than two minutes and is constructed around an apparently simple motif. Yet it sounds pretty impressive, especially when played quickly. The endless flow of short notes suggests a ticking clock or a working machine. A piece with such a ‘never-ending’ stream of notes is also known as a perpetuum mobile, literally meaning perpetual motion. Throughout the whole of history, inventors have tried to make a machine that once in motion needs no extra energy to keep on working. A few years before Bach wrote this piece, Johann Bessler, who lived a day’s journey away from Bach, claimed to have invented such a machine: a wheel that kept on turning endlessly. Bach’s fellow townsman, the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, knew Bessler personally and had high expectations of this invention. Unfortunately, we know in our times of energy shortages that these perpetual motion machines are physically impossible, however much they might appeal to the imagination. Bach’s little prelude, on the other hand, attains perpetuity within 90 seconds.
Young talent
Once every two or three years, the Netherlands Bach Society organises a talent development project for gifted young musicians under the age of 18. The projects, which focus on the performance practice of Bach’s music, allows us to bring talented youngsters into contact with historical performance practice and give them deeper insight into Bach’s music. In this project, we worked with keyboardists of the future. Seven very talented international youngsters between twelve and eighteen years old were selected from auditions to take two masterclasses about Bach, the harpsichord and baroque playing techniques and styles, given by Siebe Henstra. Each keyboardist rehearsed movements from the Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, including the Nine Little Preludes, BWV 924-932, which Bach wrote to use in lessons with his son Wilhelm Friedemann. The rehearsed works were recorded for All of Bach in October 2024, at the Maltezerhuis in Utrecht.
- BWV
- 928
- Title
- Prelude in F major
- Instrument
- harpsichord
- Genre
- harpsichord works
- Serie
- Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
- Year
- ca. 1720-1722
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
Translation
Credits
-
- Release date
- 15 January 2026
-
- Recording date
- 16 October 2024
-
- Location
- Maltezerhuis, Utrecht
-
- Harpsichord
- Guillermo González García
-
- Instrument
- Titus Crijnen, 1992 after Johannes Ruckers, 1638
-
- Director and camera
- Robin van Erven Dorens
-
- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Pim van der Lee
-
- Music recording, edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
-
- Camera
- Martijn van Beenen
-
- Lights
- Ernst-Jan Thieme
-
- Data handling
- Brechtje van Riel
-
- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
-
- Producer
- Lisanne Marlou de Kok
Discover
Help us to complete All of Bach
There are still many recordings to be made before the whole of Bach’s oeuvre is online. And we can’t complete the task without the financial support of our patrons. Please help us to complete the musical heritage of Bach, by supporting us with a donation!