#davidcardon

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Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier I Fugue XXIV in B Minor, BWV 869

This is the final fugue of Book I and, fittingly, the final piece in this project. At the time, Bach likely didn't have any intention of writing a Book II and wrote this fugue as a final work, a summation of all the preludes and fugues that preceded it. Its subject is 24 eighth note pulses long--the number of prelude/fugue pairs in the book--and contains all 12 tones of the scale, making it the world's first 12-tone composition, and predating Schoenberg's system by 200 years. In terms of chromaticism, dissonance, drama, and form, Bach pushed the contemporary limits of composition to the very utmost and beyond with this epic fugue.

Five years, six months, and 24 days ago, I sat down on a sweaty September afternoon and recorded the Ab Major prelude from Book I with a crappy digital recorder my partner didn't use anymore. I left the windows open and banged it out in competition with street noise, the odd siren, and cicadas buzzing at the height of summer. At the time I had played piano only occasionally since high school and hadn't truly practiced anything for nearly 16 years. I didn't sound so great that day, but it felt good. A few months later, I did another recording, and then another, and then sometime in 2009 decided to do it as a project, "both books in no particular order, for no particular reason." That last bit isn't entirely true, I just didn't know the reasons at the time.

Call me trite, but the end of any big, multi-year project is bittersweet, and this one was the most satisfying of my life. It's hard to know what to do next, but I'm certain my landlady, neighbors, and especially my long-suffering partner, are overjoyed. (Matt and I still wonder if the incessant practicing was one of the reasons our previous neighbors moved out last year. Bless them, they never said a word.) For those of you who have been following for all these years, thank you for your support, words of encouragement, and indeed the occasional criticisms. Knowing that even just a few people are paying attention can be incredibly motivating.

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Yes, it took me 6 months to work up this 4-voice monster, the most challenging of the project by far. I even debated omitting it on the grounds that it's the one 'impossible' fugue of the 48. Impossible how? Well there's a merely improbable moment in the left hand at bar 74, but then there's the sustained pedal tone of the last 4.5 bars that cannot be played as notated on a manual keyboard instrument.

In the half-year struggle, my feelings evolved from self-resentment for procrastinating and leaving this beast to sour my attitude so near the end of the project--it is still far from my favorite fugue--to accepting that once again I was being taught an important lesson. Wherever its origin--scholars speculate that the fugue was originally written for organ and repurposed for the WTC--I'm fairly convinced Bach didn't pluck this fugue from some other existing repertoire just to fill the A minor fugue slot in the first book, but rather to add an additional dimension of challenge to the work. He put it there because it was impossible.

Speaking of the impossible… the page turns. No existing edition has managed to deal with them well because, quite simply, there aren't any good places for them. Except for 1 beat in bar 65, both hands are fully occupied throughout. Memorizing music this complex would have added another 6 months to the process at least, so I cheated and did the video in 3 cuts with 2 different camera angles. The microphone I use is attached to the camera, so apologies in advance for the subtle tempo change and not-so-subtle difference in the audio quality of the middle section.

[wtcproject]

In this installment of my disembodied hands playing the piano, I divert from the WTC to the Corrente of Partita VI, for no reason other than the last 3 fugues of the WTC Project are taking some time to shed and I needed something fast and fun to nimble me up.

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Dear Mother,

Here is the Brahms you requested. Thanks for the piano lessons and a childhood full of great music.

Happy Mother's Day.

Love,

David

[wtcproject]

Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier II Fugue VIII in D-sharp Minor, BWV 877

This is the kind of piece that requires you to slow down your heart rate in order to comprehend it… something I'm not particularly good at, but it was a worthwhile exercise! The long, introspective subject says a thousand things at once. Listen for chromaticism that is positively air-curling and completely marvelous. Truly one of the great, epic 4-voice fugues of the WTC.

[wtcproject]

Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier I Fugue XXI in B-flat, BWV 866

I realized only after posting the last prelude that it marked a pretty significant milestone: all preludes from both books are finished! Only four fugues remain, unfortunately all of them massive and supremely difficult. Meanwhile, I've decided to dilute the intense and lengthy demystification process of these big final fugues with a few do-overs that were recorded during the early phase of this project, when it was an audio-only exercise.

The B-flat fugue from Book I has been a favorite since I worked it up the first time in March 2009. (Hard to believe it has been that long ago!) This is meat and potatoes Bach, with a Teutonic belly laugh of a subject and two jaunty countersubjects that tumble around each other for 48 bars. I had a lot of fun practicing it again and hope you enjoy it.

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Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier II Prelude XVII in A-flat, BWV 886

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J.S. Bach: French Suite IV - Allemande, BWV 518

You couldn't be blamed for thinking I'd given up. I haven't, but it's clear I'm in the "last 5 pounds" phase of this project. Only the most daunting and difficult pieces remain. Meanwhile, here's an Allemande from one of the French suites that always makes me happy. No further explanation needed.