Topic: New video Bach @ home. Prelude n 12 in F minor BWV 857 WTC 1
Dear Friends,
we are halfway through this exciting marathon on Bach's WTC 1, the journey so far has been long, full of unexpected events but absolutely fascinating. I hope you enjoyed these videos and they gave you a hint of the enormous satisfaction I get from playing them.
The key of F- minor — sombre both by its minor character, and by its position on the undertone side of the fundamental scale (key of the under-third of A minor) — yet, standing in close relationship to the fundamental major scale (C), and commanding the C- major chord as dominant, it receives a consoling ray of light — is one of the most melancholy of keys. It does not express sorrow as deep as that of Eb-minor, nor passion as morbid as that of C#- minor, but it is impregnated with deeper feeling, greater solemnity, pensiveness, introspection, than almost any other key. Its near relationship to C major (the F-minor- chord is the counter- clang, the Antipodes of the C-major-chord) gives to it the character of one standing in the world, yet with averted eyes. Quiet and unerring he advances with head erect through the crowd, intently surveying everything, but, like a true philosopher, not heeding small things.
The characteristic elements of the prelude are a motive wandering slowly along in uniform crotchets (for the most part simultaneously, in two voices) and, in opposition to it, and lighting up its countenance, an expressive semiquaver figuration interspersed with significant (accented) rests. The piece is, for the most part, written strictly à 4 the figuration is absent from the bass, which, when not advancing earnestly in crotchets, generally has notes of greater value — at the beginning, a short organ -point on the tonic, and at the end, a long one on the dominant.
My actual setting is:
Played on Yamaha P125 piano stage Video Recording Samsung Galaxy A54.
VST: Hamburg Steinway D Pianoteq Stage 8.4.0
