The Well-Tempered Clavier

The Well-Tempered Clavier ( BWV 846-893 ) is a collection of preludes and fugues for a keyboard instrument by Johann Sebastian Bach in two parts. Part I presented Bach 1722, Part II, 1740/42 finished. Each part contains 24 pairs of one prelude and fugue in every major and minor keys, chromatically arranged in ascending order from C major to B minor.

• 5.1 forms
• 5.2 Preludes
• 5.4 On the question of the unity of the work
• 5.5 Key character

Title

Bach's own title is on the title page of the autograph from 1722:

The Wohltemperirte Clavier, or preludes and fugues in all the tones and semitones, as well a major third or Ut Re Mi anlangend, as well as a minor third or Re Mi Fa concerning. For the benefit and use of teaching musical youth desiring, as well as those in this studio already hab seyenden particular pastime auffgesetzet and verfertiget by Johann Sebastian Bach. p. t: high Princely Anhalt- Cöthenischen Capel- masters and Directore those Camer Musiquen. Anno 1722.

The term " Clavier ", which included all former keyboard instruments, Bach had the choice of instrument for the execution is deliberately. The organ is rejected because Bach wrote no separate voice pedal or designated as such and the organs of his time were tuned meantone. The compositional technique of many preludes and fugues of the work suggests that it was intended for clavichord or harpsichord. After Johann Nikolaus Forkel's statement Bach had a preference for the clavichord. In the obituary of 1754, however, stands on Bach: " The Clavicymbale he knew, so pure and true to temperiren in the mood, that all keys sounded nice and pleasing. " This work is today or both on the harpsichord as well as on the modern piano. wing played.

The term " well-tempered " refers to the 1681 invented by Andreas Werckmeister, he called the well-tempered tuning. The mean- wolf fifth was defused at the expense of pure thirds, to enable playing in all keys. When to go and also parallel the usual mean tone contrast keys are all the more out of tune, the further they are away from C major, so that the composer avoided this remote keys. 1710 led Johann David Heinichen a circle of fifths, which brought the 24 major and minor keys in a common tonal system and so their relationships to each other made ​​definable. But before Bach took advantage of these innovations composers hardly practical and composed at most individual works in the hitherto shunned keys, so that Johann Mattheson in 1717 complained: " Although all Claves can be set up now by Temperaturam so that they diatonicé, chromaticé & enharmonicè very may well use, a true demonstratio missing. "

In his work, Bach was practically demonstrate the suitability of the well-tempered mood for composing and playing in all keys. He contributed significantly to their historical enforcement. What are the usual in his time well-tempered tunings Bach actually used, however, is unknown.

The then still unusual terms major and minor rewrote Bach in the long title of the first part with the Italian names of the first three pitches of a major scale ( Ut - Re-Mi ) or minor scale ( Re-Mi - Fa), ie the interval of a large (major ) or small ( minor ) third.

The carefully worded long title stated the educational purpose of the collection as a systematic textbook for musical beginners and advanced: it serves " for the benefit and use of teaching musical youth desiring, as well as those in this studio already hab seyenden particular pastime ." This purpose was also two other Bach, 1722/23 newly released Composition cycles: the " Auffrichtigen Guide" and the " Little Organ Book ". He ranked the Well-Tempered Clavier in those instrumental works, which served primarily the training of young musicians. This was one of the outstanding obligations of the cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig: that office to the creek in 1722 just applied. The first part of the Well-Tempered Clavier, together with its long title was therefore also part of the application to Bach.

Precursor

Even before the Well-Tempered Clavier, there were various forms of collection of preludes and fugues. In the North German tradition, the Bach met primarily through its principal champion Dietrich Buxtehude, broke through in long, complicated sentences structured improvisation - toccatenhafte sections with imitative or fugal. In the southern German tradition often formed a single prelude the introduction to a collection of short joints ( " versettes " ) with determination of worship. Consistently the paired combination of a prelude different shape with a joint is first held in the collection of organ compositions Ariadne Musica by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer ( 1702, only the reprint from 1715 is preserved). Also, by extension of the hitherto usual key loop ( the sections are available in a total of twenty keys ) has this collection on the Well-Tempered Clavier advance.

Experiments to make all keys compositionally available, there were fishermen also occasionally before the Well-Tempered Clavier. Johann Jacob Froberger composed a ( lost today ) Canzone through all 12 keys [! ]; Johann Mattheson Exemplary organist sample ( 1719) contains general bass exercises without artistic standards in all keys.

Manuscripts

Part One

About the earliest time of origin of Part I has no information. Ernst Ludwig Gerber, son of Bach 's pupil Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber reported in 1790:

"So he has, after a certain tradition, his Temperirtes piano, these are partly very artificial joints and Preludes through all 24 notes, posted in a place where his displeasure, long while, and lack of any kind of musical instruments abnöthigte this pastime. "

This passage is often related to the Part I; over the place, however, is meant by Gerber, as well as on the time nothing is known.

The First Part is delivered in the autograph. In addition, there is an abundance of copies, the most important were made of Bach's pupils and contain a number of variant readings. They arose during the lesson in Bach and reflect the multi-year revision process. The following stages can be read from them:

• α1: The earliest known version is handed down to us only through copies. In particular, some preludes of the first half do not have a much shorter and simpler form. Whether in front of α1 still have existed earlier versions, can not say for sure. Some evidence in favor of the assumption that α1 is at least partially composed of older material.
• α2: the piano book for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach contains seven Preludes in slightly more developed form.
• α3: Between α1 / 2 and α3 far the most important development step is the history known to us. Almost all the preludes of the first half to G -dur be extended to its final length, almost doubled part. The joints are not changed, nor has the preludes from G minor, only in the in A Flat Major, there are changes in the melodic lines. "So almost gives the impression that Bach the revision process is interrupted after the sentence pair in G. " But it is also conceivable that Bach " had earlier laid the preludes in G minor on a new, in his view, non-audit in need of basic concept ."
• A: The autograph (now in the Berlin State Library ) was originally (1722) a fair copy. Bach, however, has also been changed many times. Distinguish can be the following stages, each revision also still includes several bug fixes: A1: Original condition of the autograph, only slightly enhanced compared to α3 ( 1722 to no later than 1723);
• A2: Minor changes to the C sharp major Prelude and Fugue in D minor (1732 );
• A3: Rhythmic change the theme of the C- Major Fugue ( 1736 or later);
• A4: More extensive revision, but similar to α3 only the first half relates to the G- Major Fugue (after 1740). This is the last version known to us.

Part Two

The situation in the second part presents itself much more difficult than the first part, since no complete autograph is preserved. There exist a copy of Bach 's pupil Johann Christoph Altnickol from 1744 and an incompletely preserved original manuscript (known as the London autograph), which is dated on the basis of diplomatic studies to the years 1740/42. Even to a greater extent than in the first part, however, Bach should have resorted to earlier compositions. The arrangement of this collection as a late second part of the Well-Tempered Clavier goes back to the copy Altnickol that is overwritten with this same title. One can therefore assume that Bach himself described the work as with some justification.

Construction

Each of the two parts of the Well -Tempered Clavier contains 48 pieces that are each arranged in pairs as a prelude with associated joint. The order of the pairs is determined by the key and is the root of C. semitones in ascending order, each major key followed by the same minor key.

Each sentence pair from Prelude and Fugue is performed in the Bach - Werke-Verzeichnis given a distinguishing number. Accordingly, the first part includes BWV 846 to BWV 869, Part 2, BWV 870 to BWV 893

Musical content

Molding

Despite its limitation on the forms of the prelude and the fugue, the Well-Tempered Clavier on a wide variety of musical expressions. The size of the work consists not only in the artistic composition technique. So it is just the poetic content of the pieces, the performers and listeners of the work has been fascinated by the centuries.

Preludes

The preludes are not subject to strict compositional rule and are admirably varied. Some of them are little more than preparation and compliance to the following fugue, for the most part but they are compositions of their own rank. There can be different types of preludes distinguished: Klangflächenpräludien example, are characterized by the lack of a thematic substance; Preludes in imitative movement, however, are complex linear polyphonic compositions. In the second part also pieces in klavieristisch galant kit can be detected, by appropriate notice the stylistic characteristics ( arpeggiations Seufzermelodik ).

Characteristic of the joint, however, is a more stringent system that is based on the principle of imitation and contrapuntal technique. The joints of the Well-Tempered Clavier stand out for its brevity, also stands despite the stringent compositional frame out their diversity. A classification is possible both stylistic considerations (eg, dance -like character ), but also on purely formal criteria: So most joints of the Well-Tempered Clavier are three voices, some four parts, only two in five voices ( BWV 849 and 867 ) and two voices ( BWV 855). In addition, the vast majority of the joints is monothematic, three processing two threads, and only two prominent works are triple fugues.

On the question of the unity of the work

On the part of musicology, there have always been attempts to make connections between Prelude and Fugue in a sentence pair, and beyond between the pieces of the whole work. Although such compounds can certainly find them, they are not mandatory. Also, the order of the pieces seems, except perhaps the Prelude in C Major, which has clearly issuing character, not mandatory. One speaks therefore in the Well-Tempered Clavier rather than a collection of pieces from a ( self-contained ) piano cycle.

Key character

Especially in the German literature has been speculated over and over again about the Well-Tempered Clavier the underlying key characteristics. In most cases, the observations of various authors reflect only their subjective impressions, their objectivity and aim it fails because of the contradictions between the characteristics of the Prelude and Fugue, the first and second part. Relevant sources from which a finding that Bach certain keys attributed to certain characters that do not exist. As evidence for the existence of such aesthetics in the time of Bach Johann Mattheson's sometimes a passage from The New = is opened Orchestre (1713 ) cites contradictory characters are awarded in 17 different keys for the part. However, a connection to Bach's thinking is not provable, but is - in the face of utter isolation of this passage in the extensive music literature of the time - not even proven that key characteristics ever played any role in the composing of the late Baroque and Mattheson's versions are more than the temporary thought experiment of a extraordinarily productive writer on music. On the other hand, Bach should have had ideas of key characteristics or symbolism in the design of his compositions, they can not have been very important to him. After matching opinion he has won a number of pieces in rare keys by transposition of older pieces in easy keys. For a d- minor fugue, the G sharp minor fugue is a accepted in G Minor as the original version of the dis - minor fugue of the first part. So you could possibly be taken as examples of the characteristics of d- or g -minor pieces to complete.

Hans Eppstein, however, wrote about the first part: " Scholars joints are almost invariably in minor ( with those in cis, dis and b as the most prominent ), as well as those with particularly expressive charged topics ( f, fis, h ), while on the other hand, emphasizes its musical counterpoint uncomplicated joints predominantly available in major " But even this is not much more than a vague tendency: the joints in c minor, e minor and G sharp minor are in any case not particularly taught, and whether you as their subjects ." want to call expressive loaded ", can only be a matter of personal taste.

Effect story

The work was a milestone in European music history, because now all the keys were in principle equivalent, and the possibilities of enharmonic modulation and could be extended to all keys.

The Well-Tempered Clavier is not advised in contrast to other compositions of JS Bach after his death into oblivion. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart introduced to the work probably know by Gottfried van Swieten, who brought music from Prussia to Vienna; as directed Mozart fugues from the Well- Tempered Clavier, a string trio (K. 404a ) and for string quartet ( K. 405 ). Even Ludwig van Beethoven knew and appreciated the Well-Tempered Clavier, as testimonies of Robert Schumann have survived. A romantic processing provide the Méditation sur le premier prelude de Bach for violin and piano and Represents the Ave Maria by Charles Gounod Ignaz Moscheles has created an arrangement for piano and cello ( Ten Preludes for the Well-Tempered Clavier ( Opus 137a ) ). A renewed interest in the Well-Tempered Clavier is then recorded in the 20th century with the turning away from the romance and its perceived as pompous musical sentence. Even in the wake of the historical-critical study of the sources ( New Bach Edition ) and the historical performance practice, interest in the Well-Tempered Clavier is reawakened.

Many composers have been inspired also by the Well-Tempered Clavier to his own works. In particular, the ambitious counterpoint of the joints will always find imitation as with Anton Reicha's 36 joints op.36 or August Alexander Klengel with its 24 Canons in all keys " Les Avantcoureurs " and two further volumes, each with 24 Canons and Fugues in all keys. The Préludes (Op. 28) by Frédéric Chopin appear in their musical content, however, to make far more to the freer play of the Preludes. In the 20th century, Julius Weismann rejected his joints Tree ( 1943-46 ) and especially Paul Hindemith in his Ludus tonalis (1942 ) and his well-tempered Ragtime (1921, premiere 1987) and Dmitri Shostakovich with his 24 Preludes and Fugues op 87 at Bach's work on. Other examples are Rodion Shchedrin with 24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano (Book 1, 1964; Issue 2, 1970), each of 24 Preludes op.83 and op.108 24 joints of Hans Gal and Mario Castelnuovo- Tedesco with Les bien guitares temperées (24 Preludes and Fugues for Two Guitars, op 199). Arnold Schoenberg looked at the B minor fugue from the first part as the first work in twelve-tone technique. Even jazz musicians have repeatedly dealt with Bach and especially the Well Tempered Clavier.

Quotes

" The wohltemperirte Clavier is the Old Testament, the Beethoven sonatas the new, to both [ Bach and Beethoven ] we must believe. "

" Whenever I came to a halt when composing, I took the Well-Tempered Clavier out, and immediately sprouted me new ideas. "

"Let the Well-Tempered Clavier your his bread daily, so you'll assuredly a good musician. "