Prelude and fugue in C minor

Prelude and fugue in C minor

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

  • Menu
  • 1. Prelude
  • 2. Fugue

Behind the music

Story
Story
Extra videos
Extra videos
Credits
Credits

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.”

Vocal texts

Original

Translation

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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