Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E Major

Short and sweet—that’s the essence of the Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E Major. The Prelude itself is unexpectedly melodious and could almost have been written to demonstrate to a pupil how to transform simple patterns (arpeggios) into sweet melody—economically harmonised by itself. There’s wit, too, in the way the melodic lines don’t always go where we expect, all too often drawn into a delightful web of harmonic intrigue. The Prelude also appears in some manuscript copies of the sixth French Suite, but it feels absolutely right here, introducing a similarly nonchalant Fugue. Over in a flash, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, relying for impact on the simple device of a rising, two-note idea presented at the very beginning. Immediately followed by a garrulous scamper of notes, the overall effect is akin to a group of chattering kids—each trying to get a word in. About J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book I If we had to choose the most influential of Bach’s works in the centuries since his death, the biggest votes would probably go to the St Matthew Passion and The Well-Tempered Clavier. The epithet “well-tempered” refers to “equal temperament”—a new method of tuning keyboard instruments, which made a wide range of keys available. Bach showed off these possibilities in two books of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, which is why the collection is sometimes known as the “48”. Partly drawing on earlier works, Bach completed Book 1 around 1722, and Book 2 20 years later, constantly revising both. He intended the pieces to be useful to players of all types of keyboard instrument.