The Prelude and Fugue for organ in B minor, BWV 544,
was composed during Bach's tenure at the Thomaskirche
in Leipzig. It is an excellent example of Bach's mature
essays in the genre, which begin to appear in his later
Weimar years.
In 6/8 meter, the Prelude is one of Bach's most rich
and forceful. An intricate opening idea becomes even
more involved upon repetition, after repeated octave
leaps in the bass create a sense of anticipation. The
prelude is somewhat sectionalized, its comple...(+)
The Prelude and Fugue for organ in B minor, BWV 544,
was composed during Bach's tenure at the Thomaskirche
in Leipzig. It is an excellent example of Bach's mature
essays in the genre, which begin to appear in his later
Weimar years.
In 6/8 meter, the Prelude is one of Bach's most rich
and forceful. An intricate opening idea becomes even
more involved upon repetition, after repeated octave
leaps in the bass create a sense of anticipation. The
prelude is somewhat sectionalized, its complex, thick
material interrupted occasionally by moments of rest in
which only one voice continues. The first of these
introduces a section without pedal that becomes
increasingly florid until the return of the leaping
octave in the bass and its attendant material, acting
like a refrain. At the end of the prelude, more
repetitive octave leaps in the pedal, reminiscent of
those beginning in the third measure, provide the
foundation for a chain of suspensions that creates a
tremendous forward impetus, pushing toward the close on
B major.
Bach chose a subject for the B minor Fugue that is very
different from the material of the prelude. Only two
measures in length and consisting of turning scale
passages, the plain subject borders on the
uninteresting. However, it does succeed in outlining
confirming tonic in no uncertain terms and provides
material enough for an eighty-eight-measure fugue. The
counterpoint to the second subject entry, in the tenor
range, becomes a permanent counter-subject that is much
more active than the subject. All four voices sound at
each of the ensuing entries, which jump from one
register to another unpredictably. Bach takes his
subject through the subdominant and two major keys
before finally landing on the dominant to introduce a
very long developmental segment. At a point in the
middle of the fugue, after many measures without pedal,
the thread of Bach's argument seems to unravel until
the subject enters on the tonic, just before the pedal
part resumes. The preceding relaxed atmosphere
increases our perception of the intensity of the end of
the work, which closes on B major.
PARTITION