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The allegro is in binary form AB. The repeats are not played in the realisation. A brisk movement that needs to be played with a sense of there being Show More...
The allegro is in binary form AB. The repeats are not played in the realisation. A brisk movement that needs to be played with a sense of there being one beat in the bar. The realisation plays back at 68 bpm with the one in a bar beat being a dotted quarter note or crotchet Equal temperament tuning allowed Bach and others to discover and pursue new key options in their exploration of the cycle of fifths. As a brisk movement fingers need to be kept near the keys and the choice of fingers needs to be secure. The edited sheet music score with suggested fingering in place is a snapshot of how the music editor approached the playing of the work. A plain score is appended to the edited sheet music score. A legato touch needs to be demonstrated in the top line which has much diatonic step wise movement . There is opportunity to explore contrasting dynamics a reflection that this piece was originally intended to be played on the harpsichord. Ornamenation does not feature in this arrangement and the two main cadences feature at the end of the A section (bar 36) and at the end of the B section (bar 96). Remember that Bach’s music needs to be played with the clearest of intentions. The music editor favours a dry acoustic performing Bach’s music with minimal use of the sustaining pedal. Close
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J.S.Bach’s Invention 2 BWV 773 is an intermediate level movement in the key of C minor. It needs to be played with a legato touch. The playback t Show More...
J.S.Bach’s Invention 2 BWV 773 is an intermediate level movement in the key of C minor. It needs to be played with a legato touch. The playback tempo of the realisation is 52 beats per minute (bpm) and the music editor suggests omitting the ornaments when learning the piece. Like many of the inventions it that can be played on a range of keyboard instruments and by a number of different instrument combinations. To understand how the ornaments should be played keyboard players can refer to the sheet music video on the PlentyMusic You Tube channel. In this video the ornaments have been written out in full to clarify how they should be played. The inventions composed in two parts or voices are concentrated and demanding movements to play. In these works it is important to keep to keep to the length of the written note values Keyboard players will need to their fingers close to the keys and play with a lightness in the hands. Pianists will perhaps recognise that the weaker fingers need some extra practice and to solve this issue the music editor suggests practising thirds. There is opportunity to explore right hand over left playing (bar 18) and changing fingering on a repeated note. The opening shape or motif is quite long and the mood of this invention is quite melancholy with a characteristic minor 7th interval. The movement needs to played evenly and consistently with a legato touch and keyboard players will need to play with a lightness in the hands. Ornaments are in place but possibly can be omitted in the early stages of learning the piece. The inventions were originally intended to be played on the harpsichord and there is more than one suggestion of a two manual instrument in this particular invention. Composed in the key of C minor the key journey is confined to the closely related keys of the dominant (bar 7), relative minor (bar 15) and sub-dominant (bar 20). Keys, understand, are not always established as such but are described as passing modulations in the baroque era. A key or change of key is generally thought of being established when there is a cadence which tends to be more the case in music from the classical era. J. S. Bach composed 15 Inventions in a collection dating from 1723 intended to introduce keyboard players to composition techniques of the baroque. They are excellent pieces for developing a sound and secure keyboard technique. A plain score is attached to the edited music score available as a pdf download from the PlentyMusic website. Close
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Duet No.3 BWV 804 in G major is an appealing work with a light, dance like character. It is an intermediate level performance piece reminiscent of the Show More...
Duet No.3 BWV 804 in G major is an appealing work with a light, dance like character. It is an intermediate level performance piece reminiscent of the composers Two Part Inventions. The Duet does present a number of score reading challenges for the player even though the music is conceived in two parts. The 4 Duets are part of Clavier-Übung III or the German Organ Mass and composed really at the zenith of the composer’s contrapuntal writing. The edited music score has suggested fingering which may serve as a useful guide to how the movement is studied in the first instance. The music editors concept is that once familiarised with the movement that players will make use of the plain score perhaps substituting their own choice of fingering where they feel it is appropriate. The time signature is in 12/8 and the piano realisation plays back at a tempo of 60 dotted quarter note beats to the minute. There are many fine performances of this movement on several different types of keyboard instrument that are worth exploring. Close
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Duet No.3 BWV 804 in G major is an appealing work with a light, dance like character. It is an intermediate level performance piece reminiscent of the Show More...
Duet No.3 BWV 804 in G major is an appealing work with a light, dance like character. It is an intermediate level performance piece reminiscent of the composers Two Part Inventions. The Duet does present a number of score reading challenges for the player even though the music is conceived in two parts. The 4 Duets are part of Clavier-Übung III or the German Organ Mass and composed really at the zenith of the composer’s contrapuntal writing. The edited music score has suggested fingering which may serve as a useful guide to how the movement is studied in the first instance. The music editors concept is that once familiarised with the movement that players will make use of the plain score perhaps substituting their own choice of fingering where they feel it is appropriate. The time signature is in 12/8 and the piano realisation plays back at a tempo of 60 dotted quarter note beats to the minute. There are many fine performances of this movement on several different types of keyboard instrument that are worth exploring. Close
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This prelude possibly dates from 1730 and is composed in four voices or lines of music with some sections having all voices sounding, whilst in others Show More...
This prelude possibly dates from 1730 and is composed in four voices or lines of music with some sections having all voices sounding, whilst in others three and sometimes only two. It opens with a section that is almost vocal in character before it transforms into a keyboard piece. There are no ornaments indicated in the score although there is an extraordinary amount of detail in the rhythmic figuration. The B section which begins at Bar 29 has some almost toccata like shapes whilst a four octave range is explored in the keyboard writing. The tempo of the realisation and playback is 72 quarter note beats to the minute and the repeats are not played. The repeat bar is indicated by a double bar at the end of bar 28 and there is also one at the end of the final bar in the sheet music score. One challenge for the performer is communicating the layers and lines that exist in the music with an awareness of an eighth note or quaver pulse. Another is to play the movement at a tempo that is appropriate and which can be maintained for the whole movement. Some of the figuration in the score can be a challenge to play if the tempo is too fast. The piece can be performed AB, AAB and even AABB the latter making it quite a long piece. The music editor when learning the movement started with the final section bars 41-56, before playing bars 29-56 and then the piece as a whole. The specified fingering is appropriate for someone who can manage a reach of a 9th with both hands. A plain score is also appended to the edited music score. Close
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