Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E-Flat Major

Although it’s usually the fugue which feels like the center of gravity, here it’s the prelude which takes precedence—bursting its boundaries and blurring the distinction between the two movements. The Prelude No. 7 in E-Flat Major is actually the longest and musically most substantial of all 24 in Book 1. Bach constructs it in three linked parts, beginning with free-flowing improvisatory writing, followed by slow, hymn-like textures which conceal a fugal theme in rising fourths. This is all by way of preparation for the impressive final section in which Bach constructs a long double fugue by cleverly combining the flowing opening of the first part with the rising theme of the second. The challenges for performers are more practical than virtuosic: finding the best fingering and phrasing to create clarity of texture and strength of line. After testing the fingers and intellect so seriously, Bach surprises us with a complete style shift—a witty three-voice Fugue which is lightness itself. 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.