This work is believed to have been written at around
the time Bach accepted the post of court organist in
Weimar under the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar. During his
tenure there (1708-1717), he continued to write many
organ and other keyboard works, further evolving his
masterful style. This Prelude, while not a major
achievement, is nonetheless a quite worthwhile effort
that exhibits the composer's routine mastery in
thematic transformation and variation. The Prelude
begins with a lively, repeating fo...(+)
This work is believed to have been written at around
the time Bach accepted the post of court organist in
Weimar under the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar. During his
tenure there (1708-1717), he continued to write many
organ and other keyboard works, further evolving his
masterful style. This Prelude, while not a major
achievement, is nonetheless a quite worthwhile effort
that exhibits the composer's routine mastery in
thematic transformation and variation. The Prelude
begins with a lively, repeating four-note motif, which
Bach then treats to a sort of variations process.
Throughout the piece, the motif repeats in a mostly
descending pattern, and because this method of
unfolding and transforming can sound repetitive, the
organist generally imparts a sense of animation to the
music and highlights significant detail in Bach's
brilliant contrapuntal writing. The mood of the work is
made up of a mixture of the glorious and the busy, the
intense and the radiant. Near the end, the Prelude
takes on a majestic sort of sense as waves of sustained
chords usher along the final, powerful statements of
the motif. This approximately five-minute Prelude will
offer considerable appeal to Baroque and organ music
aficionados.
SHEET MUSIC