Critical Description of J.S. Bach's Prelude no. 12
This piece is taken from Book 2 of J.S. Bach’s Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues (also known as The Well-Tempered Clavier). A prelude could take almost any form, the only conditions being that it should be in the same key as the fugue and form a suitable preparation of the listener’s ear and mind for what is to follow, although Bach’s preludes were usually a clearly defined musical personality, of which the fugues were logical developments and projections. Prelude no XII is in F minor. Pieces in a minor key are often less cheerful and perhaps darker than those in a major key, and while this prelude is not at all gloomy or dismal, it is somehow quite reflective. The listener does not simply a receive a happy four-minute ditty that is forgotten the moment after the recording finishes (as could be said for some classical pieces that I have heard); it is much more thought-provoking than that.The prelude, and indeed the entire work from which it originates, was designed for a keyboard soloist and from the recording I can well imagine the soloist, even Bach himself playing with great feeling and emotion. This is typically what the audience likes to hear from solo performances, unlike huge orchestras where an individual’s efforts can b
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Prelude XII, Well-Tempered Clavier, , bass clef, repeated rhythm, human ear, likes hear, comfortable listening,
Approximate Word count = 901
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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