Bach - WTC II Prelude and fugue no. 2 in C minor BWV 871 | Netherlands Bach Society

This Prelude and fugue in C minor, performed by Christine Schornsheim for All of Bach, is part of the second book of the 'Wohltemperirte Clavier'. Restlessly, the two parts in this Prelude pass the musical material back and forth to one another, alternating quick runs with an accompaniment full of leaps. The form is reminiscent of the first Invention, BWV 772, for example. The Fugue, too, is educational in character as a model of ‘partimento’; a sort of schematic method for providing interesting decoration to a musical motif.

So what are two analytical works, almost finger exercises, doing in the second part of the Wohltemperirte Clavier? The answer is simple. What we see purely as an artistic highlight was regarded by Bach of equal importance as an exercise book for his students – a sample sheet of ideas and styles. It is nice to be performing this work in the Anatomiegebouw, which is traditionally a centre for research and education. So this two-part work in C minor fulfils a very specific function that was essential in the greater whole, and the choice seems to have been made at the start of compiling the collection.

Recorded for the project All of Bach on 20 April 2022 at the Anatomiegebouw in Utrecht, the Netherlands. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel https://bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating https://bit.ly/3J5uprM.

For the interview with Christine Schornsheim on the Wohltemperirte Clavier II and the process of recording this in its entirety, see    • Schornsheim on the Well-Tempered Clav...  
For more information on BWV 871 and this production go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/...

All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material on https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allo.... For concert dates and tickets go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/conc....

Christine Schornsheim, harpsichordist
Harpsichord: Bruce Kennedy, 1989 after Michael Mietke

0:00 Prelude
3:19 Fugue