Prelude and fugue in C minor

BWV 549 performed by Ton Koopman
Stadtkirche St Wenzel, Naumburg, Germany

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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

Organist Ton Koopman

“Bach thought Zacharias Hildebrandt was the best organ builder. This organ in Naumburg was approved and inaugurated by Bach.”

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Credits

Release date

19 September 2024
Recording date

13 September 2020
Location

Stadtkirche St Wenzel, Naumburg, Germany
Organist

Ton Koopman
Organ

Zacharias Hildebrandt, 1746
Director and editor

Robin van Erven Dorens
Music recording

Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt
Music edit and mix

Guido Tichelman
Camera

Robin van Erven Dorens, Onno van der Wal
Lights

Ernst-Jan Thieme
Assistant music recording

Marloes Biermans
Interview

Robin van Erven Dorens, Marloes Biermans
Producer

Jessie Verbrugh
With support from

Dr. Edgar von Hinüber

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