#wtcproject

[wtcproject]

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.

[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.

[wtcproject]

Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier II Fugue XXIII in B, BWV 892

It took months for me to bond with this fugue. It's technically very difficult, but the more daunting challenge was the interpretation.

For me, it came down to simplicity vs complexity. The primary subject is the simplest thing, a rising 3rd, a falling 3rd, and a rising 6th (inverted 3rd), outlining an authentic cadence (I-IV-V-I), the most basic of all. Rhythmically, it couldn't be straighter: 7 half notes, no rests, no syncopation. It's the music of kindergarten. Or "Do Re Me" from The Sound of Music. In stark contrast, underneath and between the primary subjects, Bach weaves a haunting fugal tapestry of remote tonalities and rich harmonies. I felt an aspect of reminiscence to this music. (This is, after all, the last great 4-voice fugue of the two books.) I wanted to hear two dimensions, one distant, as if overheard from another room, and the other clear and in the foreground.

[wtcproject]

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.

[wtcproject]

Because I chose not to approach this project in chronological (or logical) order, I have spent a lot of time flipping through the books of the WTC over the last 2+ years, fishing for the next piece to tackle. This little prelude is one that I tended to flip past. Sandwiched between the prayerful (and approachable) A-flat Major fugue and its masterful 4-voice companion fugue, it looks like an underdog on the page. Difficult to imagine Bach himself invested much in it. But with only 5 pieces left in this project, I had to do it and found, not an underdog, but work of perfect contrapuntal economy.

Bach applied mathematical structure to his music and had a particular affinity for 3s. (Holy Trinity thing.)  This is crazy, but here goes: G-sharp is the 9th of the 12 semitones. Divisble by 3. Naturally, it follows that the number of this prelude—18—is also divisible by 3. 18/3=6. It’s in a triple meter, 6/8. The subject consists of 9 notes and is stated 10 times right-side up, 5 times inverted. 15 is divisible by 3, and the ratio of subject to inversion is 2/3. The 9-note subject is then sliced into three 3-note chunks and used throughout, in various permutations, as episodic material and to underlie the subject. In the hands of your average serialist composer, mathematics like this would have been dehydrating, but this is Bach.

[wtcproject]

Bach, J.S.: Well-Tempered Clavier II Fugue IV in C-sharp Minor, BWV 873

This technically hairy fugue from book two might on first hearing sound like Bach being a showoff. It’s a triple-meter dance at a nice clip, with a three voice subject, which Bach inverts a few times and truncates all over the place. Naturally there’s also a strong countersubject, this one deeply chromatic with long, slow note values. It’s a lament, looming in the background while the oblivious subjects dance. In effect, Gather ye rosebuds...