J.S. Bach - Three Fantasias & Fugues, BWV 575-944 (1708-25)

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations as well as for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

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Uploaded with special permission by performer Peter Watchorn

1. Fantasia & Fugue in A minor, BWV 904 (0:00 / 3:29) (1725?}
2. Fantasia & Fugue in A minor, BWV 944 (9:41 / 10:53) (1714?)
3. Fantasia in G minor (“duobus subjectis”) BWV 917 (17:51) (1710?)
4. Fugue in C minor BWV 575 (19:29) (1708-17)

PETER WATCHORN, pedal harpsichord
(Hubbard & Broekman after Ruckers/Blanchet/Taskin,
1990/after J.A. Hass, 1734)

The Fantasia BWV 904 is a richly impressive work composed in strict four-part counterpoint, which manages also to incorporate the ritornello idea that Bach adopted from the concertos of Italian composers as a chief
organizing principle: in this case the piece opens and closes with a full statement of this theme. The recurring nature of the 12-bar descending ritornello bass echoes the character of a chaconne or passacaglia. This piece works well with the bass-line of the ritornello played by the feet, which underlines the gravitas of the main subject, as distinct from the contrasting episodes. The elaborate four-voice Fugue, which may well have existed separately from the Fantasia during Bach’s lifetime falls into three distinct sections and employs two subjects.

The Fantasia BWV 944 consists of just ten measures, entirely composed of white-notated chords, marked arpeggio, indicating that the performer is expected to expand the framework into an actual piece. The presence of this technique, with which an entire work is to be created provides a clue to the performance of similar sections in the Chromatic Fantasia – and vice versa. The Fantasia is followed by one of Bach’s most exciting, freely-composed and virtuosic three-voice fugues, which is entirely instrumental in character, and represents a pinnacle of contrapuntal achievement among Bach’s earlier fugues. The most significant manuscript source, in the hand of Bach’s brother, Johann Christoph, includes the Fantasia, which is absent in other surviving copies. This indicates an early composition date, perhaps contemporary with the Chromatic Fantasia.

The G minor Fantasia “on two themes” is a compact, ingenious and earnest exploration of invertible counterpoint involving three, rather than two thematic ideas, all of which are presented in various permutations during the course of the work’s two minutes. The “duobus subjectis” refers
to the double counterpoint announced after the brief opening flourish: two complementary tunes above and below a descending chromatic figure. In general mood, the work calls to mind the A minor Fantasia, BWV 904, where a similar thematic interplay is presented. Perhaps this work is an earlier essay in a similar style.

This dramatic stand-alone Fugue BWV 575, grouped by the editors of the Bach Gesellschaft edition with three others (G major, BWV 576 – 577 and G minor, BWV 578) with its striking, three-unit rhetorical subject, unusually ambiguous harmony that results from the subject’s intervallic properties, and compelling dramatic flow recalls the final fugue of the E minor Toccata, BWV 914, an affinity that has often been noted by writers about Bach’s music.
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This first fantasie is absolutely beautiful

lucasramos
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The wonderfulness and comfort of this clear sound are irreplaceable, and soothe my soul

shin-i-chikozima
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The first Fantasia is absolutely merveillous

fiorellabrancacci
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La musique classique m'apaise et me détend, j'aime ces vibrations 🎼💙

roserouge
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It's interesting to notice that the subject of the BWV 944 has the same harmonic pattern of the the subject from BWV 543. They literally look like one is the first version of the other.

SPscorevideos
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Wunderschöne und detaillierte Interpretation dieser drei perfekt komponierten Fantasien und Fugen in verschiedenen Tempi mit klarem doch elegantem Klang des technisch fehlerlosen Cembalos und mit sorgfältig kontrollierter Dynamik. Wahrlich intelligenter und vielseitiger Cembalist!

notaire
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15:49 Love the modulation, and crazy pedals at 17:01 :)

BsktImp
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Dankjewel Bartjen voor het delen van deze prachtige muziek. Groetjens, Klaasjen.

klaasklapsigaar
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Felix Mendelssohn is my favorite composer but J.S. Bach is the greatest of all time.

matteopascazio
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Fantasia & Fugue in A minor, BWV 904
Fantasia Theme: 0:00
Fugue: 3:29

Fantasia & Fugue in A minor, BWV 944
Fantasia Theme: 9:41
Fugue: 10:53

larkaspic
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Bellissima interpretazione, ho fatto una trascrizione per organo. Grazie per lo spartito

pillolo
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"so you have any fantasies? 😈 "
"I happen to have 3 here with me"

kapellmeisterr
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Die letzte fuge erinnert mich irgendwie ganz stark an die fuge aus der toccata in e Moll bwv 914🤔

alexkunst
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Привет. А есть расшифровка трелив фуге BWV 904? Пасибо

ИгорьСазонов-тл
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2nd fantasia does not appear to be what is written. All just gorgeous nevertheless! If I dare to say so, these fugues seem superior to many of those in the WTC which sometimes come to feel relatively perfunctory when one is dragged through all 24 X 2 as is often the case.

Wkkbooks
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This reminds me of a game called lies of p

Leprechaunguy
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I'm not a professional misisician, but this harp sounds a bit raspy

baileyclanbookclub
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I'm just curious, did Bach write this in his spare time. Or did he play for an audience or for royalty? Myself personally, the music seems elitist.

lingnguyen
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