Beyond the Notes: Bach's Prelude in C Minor will make you smile. 

Over the centuries Bach continues to be unrivaled.

Bach certainly loved C minor (and E flat), this one and the duo from the second book are full of religious symbolism. For starters, C minor is a key with 3 flats, representing the holy trinity. Bach was a very religious man and did this sort of thing often. For example, his Mathew’s Passion starts in E minor (Erde) and the final chorus ends in C minor. So we start on Earth and finish in Heaven. I could go into much more detail but youtube comments are not the place. :)

Bach is, indeed, a soulful storyteller

I had to go immediately and play this again (piano, I'm afraid- I don't own a clavichord and I just started rebuilding my harpsichord), and it felt like an entirely new piece to me! After growing up with quite strict Bach interpretations being common (I'm 57), free, even Romantic interpretations like this make the music feel like it is finally able to escape; to escape the cold written notes and to come alive and communicate Bach's very deep emotions. Thank you for the inspiration!

The Prelude dates from 1720, it’s the 15th work in Clavier-Buechlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach as the 2nd Praeludium in the early form. J N Forkel used in his edition published by Hoffmeister. Gerber’s copy ends with a mordant on the E natural in the last measure. Gerber studied with J S Bach in 1725. The Gerber manuscript also has the word Adagio in what has thought to be J S Bach’s handwriting in measure 25, three measures before the Presto, this indication is only found in Gerber’s manuscript, which along with JSB’s cousin Johann Walter and two other manuscripts contain the earliest version of WTC Pt 1. Future son in law J C Altnickol’s copy dates from the later years of J S Bach’s life and contains all the revisions not found in the earlier manuscripts, or of those the autograph which Bach altered.

An excellent analysis. This prelude is not "just a finger exercise": it is music !

I love people who adore and talk about the phenomenal details of the greatest Musician of all times. So I love you too 🍒 👏🏼

There's this feeling I have when sseeing someone so connected and so immersed with music, that gives me a lot of motivation

Never realised what this prelude was hiding! Thanks so much!

I like your interpretation of this piece. The depth of JSB's music seems to require a lifetime of study and interpretation.

WIth Bach I've always sensed that there is more. And todaynyour explanation of that presto and the way you land on the e-natural made bachian sense, noit just a musical event. (The e-natiral really is final sunshine but it's still incomplete, requiring the echo of teh c. I love it.

What a wonderful revelation you had for this piece. I have to go to the piano immediately ! Thank you !!!

Thank you, this deep analysis is very impressive, and once again demonstrates the genius of Bach. Regarding the last E natural, I like your interpretation : Bass C for Earth, higher C for Heaven, and finally E for Human, flat or natural according to his mood... but I would like to recall an other possible reason, very basic indeed : It was very usual, not to say mandatory, from Renaissance to Baroque, AND SPECIALLY FOR ORGANISTS (I.e. church music), when a piece of music was written in minor mode to end up with a final chord in major - listen to Bach, Buxtehude, MA Charpentier, H. Purcell and dozens of other : D minor pieces finish with a F#, G minor with a B natural.... One reason given is that, when you play and then mute the final chord , the sound goes in reverberation all around the church, or cathedral and goes distorted when the chord is in minor. Probably real reason was more mystical.

My teacher told me she never heard this prelude well played….your interpretation at the end is very interesting

Thank you Wim. The final C maj is simply perfect.

I play this on a Yamaha P60 - I'll be playing now with all this mind. Thank you.

I love Bach's prelude! The prelude of the Law.

My first hearing of this piece was on Walter (at that time, now Wendy) Carlos' Switched-On Bach, which was released in 1968. Ever since, that has been my interpretation -- on piano, which I played in C minor, F minor, and G minor (each has its own mood and feel). Hearing your analysis and interpretation today greatly broadened my narrow understanding. Many thanks.

This was my first contest piece in the seventh grade in Wisconsin. We were rated, not against each other, but on a scale of one to five. The judge was apologetic while giving me a two for not having played it fast enough. (I played it considerably faster than this demonstration.) Today I would deem that rating appropriate, but not because of the tempo. I was merely playing the correct notes. I was not, however, telling a story. Fifty years later I am again playing c-minor, this time the double concerto in a small local concert not far from Eisenach. I hope we will tell an interesting musical story at an appropriate tempo and with the correct notes. Thank you for this reminder about what really matters in music.

Fue Maravilloso. Magistral. La Composición Literaria Coyuntural y estructural. Hecho para la Humanidad x Familia BACH Cuando todo estaba en pañales Aun se puede percibir Sabiduría Universal Gracias. Roberto Quijada Gopal

My favourite Prelude and Fugue of the whole two books. Thank you, Wim. I had a bad day and your “review” (and playing) of this piece made me feel better. God bless you +

La musique de Bach en particulier laisse une grande liberté dans l'interprétation possible. Cela stimule la créativité, incite à recréer l'oeuvre pour la personaliser. Les interprétations différentes sont autant de variations sans cesse nouvellement écrites. Et toutes sont légitimes. Les interprétations en dehors des sentiers battus, comme justement celle de ce prélude par Gould, sont des garantes de la vie toujours fluide dans la musique.

I'm collecting different parts of Beethoven's music to introduce the value of classical music to some students. Now after watching your VDO I take a step back. I never saw emotional interpretation like this on Bach. Thank you

While I happen to mostly disagree with your metronome/cut time discussions, this interpretation and discussion of the C-minor Prelude is quite wonderful. Including the tempo.

I would love to memorize this piece❤Describes what my emotion is and me struggling out of it😊

Nice very nice, just goes to show the genius of Bach, writes a series of pieces to show off the merits of a new tuning system, and yet in a prelude you can extract a story. You are a consummate teacher!

11:56 Ah! Yes, the wonderful Tierce de Picardie! It uplifts my spirits at the conclusion of the Prelude…

Thank You!!! Love Bach forever!!! 👏👏👏🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶✨☀️✨☀️✨☀️🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🙏🙏🙏

Il tempo è allegro marcato con espressione e il finale è più vivace x poi spegnersi!

you're an amazing musician with mind opening insights, thank you!

Wonderful tutorial. Thank you. I especially enjoyed your ending. I was taught this piece (and the Fugue) over 50 years ago, and my piano teachers goal for the Prelude was for me to play it as fast as possible without freezing up. So I am delighted to hear your insightful approach of this Prelude. Much appreciated. 🇨🇦

Wim, This is a really nice series which makes us think more about the music than just the notes. When I had lessons in my latter years, my teachers would spend a good part of my lessons doing this kind of analysis. Today, this has become second nature to me and makes learning and playing music even more enjoyable as I seek out this in the music. If you were to do another piece, I would like you to continue with Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C#. There's a lot more to these two than meets the eye.

wonderful.. real music played and described by a real musician. Someone who really know, feals and seeks to understand... music. refreshing to say the least. I eas wondering if you could do something covering the evplution of Bachs work throught the years...

This is wonderful Wim. Thank you for sharing your deep love of music and the fruits of all your in-depth studies. Anything which helps us get closer to the music of Johan Sebastian Bach is valuable and worthwhile. Wishing you the best - John

Until now I always have felt that Prelude No. 2 was a kind of a "simple" piece by the Great Master Bach. But now that this video has shed some light upon its hidden depth I feel very happy not having discarded it from my repertoire. Certainly the clavichord is an ideal instrument for it. Unfortunately on grand pianos some very unpleasantly mechanical interpretations have been spread. Thank your for your elucidations!

A little “as above, so below “… a little darkness; but in the end, one finds the light. I loved your interpretation!

Thank you Wim for your wonderful analysis of the Bach B Minor Prelude. It makes it so much more interesting to learn to play!

Lovely instrument.

The last 7 notes also set up the fugue theme-and its ending.

One of my first "major" pieces which I learnt for the piano. Nice interpretation and a very insightful video!

Wirklich berührend diese persönliche Deutung dieses oft zu Tode gehetzten Präludiums ! Manche werden sagen : das ist " zu romantisch " für Bach, und das auch noch unter Berufung auf " die historische Aufführungspraxis ". Ich finde es mutig - und deshalb wertvoll, weil inspirierend, wenn ein Interpret seine persönliche Geschichte mit einem Musikstück erzählt. DANKE - und gerne weiter so ! Gruß aus Stuttgart, wo J.S. Bach vielfältig " gepflegt " wird ! Post Scriptum : 300. Geburtstag von Bach's Inventionen-Vorwort 1723 : " am allermeisten eine cantable Art im Spielen zu erlangen " ( das Video hier kann das auf sehr persönliche Weise veranschaulichen ).

It is always a pleasure to listen to an old friend with a new understanding.

I so enjoyed that! And yes, now I am smiling!

When I played this piece at school, I imagined a mysterious figure in the dark, walking quickly and decisively through a 1700s busy city in the evening, with a sense of great urgency or danger. All different city sounds and events happening all around, horse hooves clicking against the pavement. He eventually stops abruptly, hardly believing he had managed to reach his destination, and yet he hesitates to proceed forward. He eventually walks through the door with a feeling of momentary relief, but the real story is only about to unveil, the fugue begins... One of my favourite Bach pieces, loved your insights and interpretation, it motivates me to come back and learn it again as it's been years since I last played it.

I keep coming back to this analysis, and as my music education improves the goal of being able to play this becomes ever closer. But you help me dream.

This Prelude was never part of my piano lessons back in the days, but I always played it slower and more emotional than I knew it from any vinyl. To warm up your fingers, it's a nice exercise to play it fast, but there is no feeling at all. Thanks to RU-vid I could listen to many others. Mostly fast and cold except for Glenn Goulds interpretation. The confirmation I was locking for ;-)

What you say here is what makes Bach utterly unique in the history of Western music. Bach was familiar with some of his German and Italian antecedents which influenced his compositional style. I wish you could analyze Toccata Nona (First Book of Toccatas and Partitas, Vol 2) of Girolamo Frescobaldi. His play with harmonies and temperament is very interesting to me and marks his genius. Love your presentations.

This post just came up on my feed. Cool stuff. Just subscribed. Thanks

Extraordinaria explicación , saludos desde Chile .

A superb theological interpretation. Thank you, so inspiring!!!

My intuitions explained…so good…

Always learning. Nice video.

Creation and heaven is undoubtedly what he had in mind.

💐♥️🥃👏😄Danke

Thanks for opening to us your thoughts about this piece, and discussing the potential for saddness at certain parts if it. I am deeply intrigued by this. Puzzled too. I only associate feelings of happiness and sadness with color, not sound, thankfully. So being both an artist and musician helps me understand how one might feel sad. In hearing this music. I guess. Hmmm. I interpret the frequent shifts into minor as equally joyous and more 'delicious' actually. I interpret it as one might feel great pleasure while eating a heavenly gourmet meal and feeling complete satiafaction. Then the desert, ambrisoal and no less blissful, Is as much, if not more, satisfying. At the moment I might not mind risking a bit of sadness for a piece of blueberry or cherry cheesecake. 😄 Thanks again. 💛

Very inspiring

Thank you ❤

Really interesting presentation - many thanks. (16th note = semiquaver).

Thank you so much!

Thankyou Wim 🙏🎶

Super cool Wim. Thanks🙂🙏🏼🌹

Very Good video.

Very nice! Thank you for this video! I like it very much!

I just started working on this piece. Your explanation is a huge help. Thank you.

A very enlightening explanation of this Bach piece for a non-musician. It'll add an extra dimension to my music listening from now on.

Thanks!

I studied this prelude many years ago, on my own, and I’ve been realising how much more is in there. I don’t have the virtuosity of playing it with all I want to say, but I’m getting to know how much I leave aside. That’s part of the mystery of music.

thank you

With this piece I've always felt it was an intense drama, slightly sad but with momentum to start with it's more like frustration or anger. The contrast with semiquavers in the rhythm and the outer counter point is effectively a melody in minims, so it's why I tend to play it sostenuto, holding down the outer notes and playing the inner parts bordering on staccato. Almost never with any pedal. I'm sure this is totally "wrong" in a authentic sense, but on a piano the dynamic possibilities and sense of touch really reflects the potential in has to be seen this way.

My connection with Bach's music is very mysterious. But hearing you talk about it is always a pleasure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge. 🦫

Fascinating!

Thank you for the excellent and passionate presentation. Thank you for making connections I was not aware of.

Delightful

One of my favorite pieces by Bach. Thank you Wim!

Almost my way of understanding this prelude. even though you changeit for me. Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much for your thoughtful insight into this wonderful piece. It's really eye-opening. Very interesting.

you are a great musicman

What a great idea! la musica celeste.

Love it!

Beautiful interprétation

Thank you. I love what you're doing.

Getting to the essence of music - that is the way. I completely agree because that is exactly what I feel myself when I play music-notes of pieces that I love, although I may realize it in another way - but the principle is the same. BRAVO! Excellent upload.

WoW 😊

Merci pour nous prendre par la main et apprendre a écouter avec le cœur et la sensibilité !

Beautiful interpretation. I enjoyed it!

What a beautiful interpretation. Thanks :)

So interesting! Thank you

Absolutely and completely BRILLIANT I have been struggling with this piece for many years and you have finally made sense of it for me. Many thanks - a wonderful way to talk about Bach.

I never saw it in that way. Thank you Sir

Beautiful playing and passionate explanation. I can not separate this prelude from the fugue. One resolves into the next so seamlessly.

This was great, very interesting, thanks!

Beautiful!

your moment is divin human and the love between - trinity, thanks D. Born Germany

Mr Winters, Thank you for your artistry and inspiration. I appreciate your work and perspective in this and your other series. I am looking forwarding to more Beyond the Notes. I wish you health and joy and many more rapturous musical moments. -Dr D

thank u

Very nice contribution,- i like it!

Wow! Finally got a chance to watch this, and of course it was amazing!! Please keep these videos coming! Fascinating! 😊

40 years ago I listened to this movement. I was blown away. For me, it is a magical experience. Beyond the notes, did a good job of explaining the magic. Well, it is Bach and even in such a simple construction like this can you really understand what a genius is saying?

Thank you for shining a new light on this very difficult to listen to gem! I hear (and see) it in a new light. So happy I found yu.

This is such a beautiful and lyrical [in a very Bachian Baroque way quite different from, and yet no less emotionally moving than, Romantic-style lyricism] prelude. You asked about our story with this piece: Since high school, I perceived this prelude as full of emotion and lyricism, and played it accordingly; and yet I would never ever hear any renditions of it that seemed to recognise it as such. Upon hearing Mahan Esfahani's rendition during the pandemic (which seemingly was only available on RU-vid for a brief period), I almost immediately teared up a bit, because of hearing for the first time in my life _someone else_ playing it according to the same manner of perception and communication of tone and mood in the music as I had myself been doing "in private" for 15 or so years. And now your rendition is also of a similar nature, with similarly tear-jerking beauties. The double lower auxiliary notes occurring in 3rds and 6ths; the tensions and variations of tension in the harmonies; the clearly cello-like lyricism of the left hand (when played at a suitable speed); and indeed, the basic fact that this the opening minor prelude of the WTC follows the same basic pattern [one main harmony per bar, with each bar consisting of 8 semiquaver notes tracing out the harmony and then repeated] as the preceding, very opening prelude of the WTC: all these point _not_ to a fast-tempo mechanical exercise, but rather an exercise in coordinated melodic lyricism and in understanding the emotional depths of tonal harmony. And also, I agree that while the Picardy 3rd is very common, it somehow is made particularly beautiful in how it occurs at the end of this prelude.