11.1 Bach's keyboard works: The Well-Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations

Bach's keyboard works revolutionized music. The Well-Tempered Clavier, with its 24 preludes and fugues in all keys, showcased equal temperament tuning. It became a model for future composers and a crucial pedagogical tool.

The Goldberg Variations display Bach's mastery of diverse techniques. From canons to hand-crossing, it explores varied compositional styles. Bach's keyboard style, with its contrapuntal complexity and virtuosic passages, influenced generations of composers and performers.

Bach's Keyboard Works

Structure of The Well-Tempered Clavier

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• Consists of two books, each containing 24 preludes and fugues
  • Book I completed in 1722, Book II compiled around 1742
• Covers all 24 major and minor keys in each book
  • Features one prelude and fugue per key, showcasing the possibilities of equal temperament tuning (C major, C minor, C# major, C# minor, etc.)
• Demonstrates the feasibility and musical potential of well-tempered tuning across all keys
• Explores the unique character and tonality of each key signature
• Serves as a pedagogical tool for keyboard players and composers
  • Develops technical skills, compositional techniques, and understanding of counterpoint
  • Provides a comprehensive study of keyboard writing in all keys

Techniques in Goldberg Variations

• Employs theme and variations form
  • Presents an aria followed by 30 distinct variations
• Aria is a sarabande in G major
  • Performed at the beginning and repeated at the end, bookending the variations
• Utilizes diverse compositional techniques throughout the variations:
  • Canon at various intervals (unison, second, third, etc.) in Variations 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27
  • Hand-crossing and overlapping techniques in Variations 5, 8, 11, 17, 23, 26, 28
  • Toccata-like figurations and virtuosic passages in Variations 14, 20, 28
  • French overture style in Variation 16, featuring dotted rhythms and grandiose character
  • Fughetta in Variation 10, employing imitative counterpoint
  • Ornamental aria-style writing in Variations 13 and 25, emphasizing melodic embellishments
• Incorporates a canon every third variation, with increasing intervallic distance between voices
• Juxtaposes contrasting styles, tempi, and textures between variations, showcasing Bach's compositional range

Features of Bach's keyboard style

• Displays contrapuntal complexity through the interweaving of multiple independent melodic lines
• Employs extensive use of imitation and sequence to develop thematic material
• Crafts idiomatic writing tailored to the keyboard's unique capabilities and range
• Incorporates ornaments and embellishments such as trills, mordents, and turns to enhance expressivity
• Challenges the performer with virtuosic passages, including hand-crossing, rapid scales, and arpeggios
• Explores various textures, alternating between homophonic, polyphonic, and monophonic passages
• Utilizes harmonic complexity and chromaticism, modulating to closely related and distant keys
• Demonstrates a mastery of keyboard writing that exploits the instrument's full potential

Influence on later composers

• The Well-Tempered Clavier became a model for future composers
  • Influenced the development of the prelude and fugue as standalone genres (Chopin's Preludes, Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues)
  • Inspired composers like Chopin, Shostakovich, and Hindemith to create their own sets of preludes and fugues
• The Goldberg Variations sparked interest in the theme and variations form
  • Composers such as Beethoven (Diabelli Variations), Brahms (Variations on a Theme by Handel), and Rachmaninoff (Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) explored the form in their own works
• Showcased the potential of equal temperament tuning, encouraging composers to venture into a wider range of keys and modulations
• Served as a foundation for the development of keyboard technique and pedagogy
  • Emphasized the importance of finger independence, hand position, and articulation
  • Became a staple in the study of keyboard performance and composition
• Demonstrated the expressive and technical possibilities of the keyboard, inspiring future composers to expand the instrument's boundaries and push the limits of virtuosity