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Bach, Johann Sebastian : 6 kleine Praeludien Prelude Nr.3 d-moll BWV 935

Work Overview

Music ID : 22579
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:prelude
Total Playing Time:2 min 00 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (1)

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: November 20, 2023
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

General Notes

This prelude is to be played at a relatively fast tempo. In the first half of this prelude, all phrases should be understood as progressing in 4-bar units. Regarding the second half, while there are various ways to segment it, one example shows an irregular progression: bars 25-28, 29-32, 33-36, 37-39, 40-44, and 45-48.

For both the first and second halves, the respective peak points are identified as the fifth phrase of the first half (bars 17-20), and either bars 37-39 or 40-44 for the second half. Naturally, leading up to these peak points, various musical elements are employed, such as modulations to different keys, sequential progressions, exchanges between hands, and inversions of the theme. Therefore, each phrase should be rendered with appropriate dynamics and tone quality.

This prelude features trills in two locations within the first half (bars 4 and 23); there are no trills in the second half. These two trills in the first half should be interpreted as longer trills, sustained until the note immediately following the trill.

Furthermore, in the final bars of both the first and second halves (bar 24 and bar 48, respectively), it is more facile to execute the two dotted half notes with the right hand and the remaining eighth notes with the left hand.

Writer: Ooi, Kazurou