After our Easter break, here is a delightful pair of preludes and fugues to come back to, as we resume our journey through the Well-Tempered Clavier, book II. Plus, in an exciting new recording which just came out – Trevor Pinnock’s. He plays an instrument built by David Way, of Stonington, Connecticut, in 1982, which is a copy of a harpsichord by Henri Hemsch dating from the mid 1700’s.

F minor

The prelude, in binary form (2 repeating sections) resembles a Gavotte with its half-bar pickup. I love how each section can be further divided as Bach introduces new material, like the 4-note arpeggios in section A or the trilling singing line that seems to come out of nowhere in section B. The fugue is in 3 parts, and it features a theme that starts with 3 repeated 8th notes and turns into runs of 16ths, which creates a feeling of “moto perpetuo”.

F sharp major

This prelude, in 2 lines, resembles a piece for a solo instrument with basso continuo, as the left hand tends to mostly accompany the singing right hand with an insisting dotted rhythm. The melody is long and ornamental, and it finishes with a set of free-form chords. The 3-voice fugue starts with an initial theme which comes in off-beat and is interrupted by a rest, later confronted with a countermelody in running 8th notes.