Post by fuguestate on Jul 26, 2021 21:25:54 GMT
So in my recent half-hearted attempts to continue my current fugue WIPs (I have like 2-3 of them going at once, all in various states of incompletion / composer blockage, what am I thinking), I decided to soak in some more "fugue juice" from the greatest of them all -- Bach -- by transcribing more fugues from WTC book 1. I had transcribed a few of them in the past, but mostly stayed within the confines of what little I knew of Bach.
But this time round, I ventured deeper into the waters of WTC 1, and discovered a few I really liked:
And there's of course The Art of Fugue that I've yet to get into... well, and WTC book 2 before that.
Which "atypical" Bach pieces do y'all like?
But this time round, I ventured deeper into the waters of WTC 1, and discovered a few I really liked:
- Fugue in Eb major: lighthearted fun. There's nothing technically remarkable about this fugue, but I just like it for some reason. The subject really speaks to me.
- Fugue in E major: has an oddly short subject that doesn't seem to have an ending (well it does, but you don't really "hear" it until the very last entry in the coda). It's amazing what a 2-note opening can open up so much music.
- Fugue in E minor: an oddball even for Bach: this features a storm-like rush of 16th notes and comes with 2 passages in unison at the octave: quite unusual and remarkable.
- Fugue in A minor: the longest in WTC 1 and perhaps one of the most complex: the driving, rhythmic subject is treated in canon, then in inversion, then in inversion-canon, and is developed extensively in complex interactions and progressions. I did find many performances on YouTube a little too fast for my liking, though. For this fugue in particular I prefer a (very) slow, stately performance rather than a virtuosic super-speed rush of notes that some performers seem to love to do. (I haven't actually transcribed this one yet, but I liked it so much I'm obliged to.)
And there's of course The Art of Fugue that I've yet to get into... well, and WTC book 2 before that.
Which "atypical" Bach pieces do y'all like?