The Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 854 is the ninth piece in Book I of J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, composed in 1722.
The prelude is a flowing pastorale. Its lilting triplets, unfolding in 12/8 time, evoke the gentle bucolic dance of the shepherd. What begins as a sunny musical conversation between higher and lower voices, takes a plaintive turn. A shadowy dissonance (0.26) is followed by a weeping descending chromatic line. By the cadence, these brief 24 measures have traversed a universe of emotion.
Commentator Rick Beato analyzes the advanced harmony in measure 20 in terms of jazz sonority. Composer Matthew King has a contrasting view, while holding Bach’s Prelude in equally high esteem.
The three-voice fugue is filled with canonic counterpoint. The subject, introduced in the alto voice, is a jubilant ascending line. The episodes are made up of fragments of the subject and countersubject.
This performance, recorded in Cologne, Germany in April of 2017 by the Netherlands Bach Society, features harpsichordist Christian Rieger:
Featured Image: Title page of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1