J.S.Bach’s Invention 13 is in the key of A minor and is a movement with some quite delightful shapes to play with the diminished 7th chord referenced in some of the patterns. This invention can and is played in different ways particularly from the point of view of tempo. As in all the inventions it is a requirement to play accurate note values. Ends of phrases are deserving of particular attention. A legato touch is suggested and players will need consider how they approach phrasing the shapes of the music in a performance. Singing or humming through the lines quietly will help clarify to instrumentalists how the music is to be played. In the edited music score suggested fingering is in placed above the notes in the treble clef and below them in the bass clef. Often in this movement the suggested fingering is determined by the direction in which the music is moving. Keyboard players would be wise to spend time playing the opening bars several time before proceeding to playing the whole movement. Remember that there are often references and suggestions in the Bach invention scores that the intended instrument on which they were to be played had two manuals. Ornaments are not featured in this movement whilst the realisation plays back at 60 quarter note or crotchet beats to the minute. Time spent listening to this work on streaming media will be invaluable to players wishing to understand the different approaches that players have when performing this movement. The Bach Inventions are generally intermediate level movements when played on a keyboard instrument The principle behind J. S. Bach’s two part inventions is to take a musical idea or motive and then process it following the rules of good contrapuntal writing using the compositional processes of the baroque and at the same time referencing the closely related keys in the journey. Inversion, repetition, sequence, transposition, rhythmic augmentation/diminution amongst other processes are evident in Bach’s inventions as most other music of the baroque period. 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. There is opportunity to distribute the weight between the hands to give prominence to the entries of thematic material. This is an important aspect of piano playing but one that needs to be developed and nurtured and understood in terms of playing a wide repertoire of music. An invention suited to being played by a wide range of instrument combinations possibly in combining instruments belonging to different instrument families. A plain score is attached to the edited sheet music score.
