(6 pages)

Notes

Prelude and Fugue in C Minor for Clavier appears in the late German Baroque contrapuntal tradition and borrows from the formal structures of Johann Sebastian Bach’s preludes and fugues from The Well Tempered Clavier.

The prelude alternates sections in bold overture style with contrapuntal episodes that are dancing and fugal in nature. Following the expressive eloquence of the prelude, the fugue is of a far more somber nature: a subject two measures in length runs its course through a gamut of key levels, appearing one at a time in all voices of the four-part polyphonic texture, and leads up to a dramatic pause; after a brief recitative-like cadenza, the subject makes one final and cadential appearance to conclude the work.

True to the performace practices of the Baroque tradition, few interpretive instructions or markings have been added. A musical realization will include varied touches and a sensitive use of rubato, as well as an awareness and clear expression of the contrapuntal elements of the composition. Prelude and Fugue in C Minor lends itself equally well to performance on piano, harpsichord, clavichord, or organ.