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J. S.

Bach (1685-1750)
 Baroque Organist and Composer (Lutheran Religion)
 Contemporaries: Handel, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi
 Outputs span over 3 Periods:
(1) Weimar: Concertmaster
Mostly for organ: chorale preludes, partitas, toccatas, passacaglia, Little Organ
Book, 2-Part Invention, 3-Part Sinfonie, 6 English Suites.
(2) Cothen: Music Director
Mostly for clavier and instrumental ensembles, and music for instruction and court
entertainment: organ arrangement of Vivaldi’s concertos, Toccatas, Chromatic
Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, 6 kbd Partitas, 6 French Suites, and 48 Preludes
and Fugues (Book I)
(3) Leipzig: Director of St. Thomas Church
Mostly cantatas and church music and mature organ, kbd works: St. John Passion,
St. Matthew Passion, Mass in B minor, 48 Preludes and Fugues (Book, II). During
this period, Bach has composed in all forms found in his time except for opera
 Outputs according to genres:
(1) Orchestral: 6 Brandenburg Concertos
(2) Chamber Music: The Art of Fugue, The Musical Offering, Trio Sonatas
(3) KBD: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, 6 English Suites, 6 French
Suites, 6 Partitas, 7 Toccatas, 2-Part and 3-Part Inventions, Goldberg
Variations, Italian Concerto, 48 Preludes and Fugues
(4) Organ: Toccata and Fugue, Passacaglia, transcriptions of Vivaldi’s concertos
(5) Chorale Preludes: Little Organ Book
(6) Cantatas: “Coffee” Cantata, “Peasant” Cantata
(7) Oratorios: Christmas Oratorio, Easter Oratorio, St. John Passion, St. Matthew
Passion, Mass in B minor

Little Prelude (BWV 936 in D Major)


 Prelude: a piece of music which precedes something else, e.g. before a fugue,
forming the 1st movement of a suite, or an orchestral introduction to an opera.
A prelude can also be a self-contained short composition, e.g. preludes for
piano by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Debussy.
 The Six Little Preludes (BWV 933-938) are a group of preludes written
for harpsichord. They are all short, pedagogical efforts written in or around the
period of 1717–1720.
 In a Baroque suite, the prelude can be found as the first movement preceding
other dances, e.g. Bach’s 6 English Suites all begin with a prelude.
 A Baroque dance suite contains standard 4 dance mvts i.e. Allemande,
Courante, Sarabande, Gigue + optional short mvt between Sarabande and
Gigue i.e. bourrees, gavottes, minutes, or air (A-C-S-O-G pattern)

Form: Binary (AB)


Theme is announced in RH in D Major
Theme is then transposed up a 5th in A Major in Section B.

Time signature: 2/4 there are 2 crotchets beats in a bar

Key signature: F#, C#

Key: D M

Modulations:
Section A--- D M- A M (G#)-G M (C natural)- e minor (C#)-b minor (A#)-A M (G #)
Section B--- A M- G M (C natural)- e minor (D#)- a minor (G#)- e minor (D#)- A M
(G#)- E M (D#)- A M.

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