Prelude no. 15 in G major (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2)

2023-04-24

Today we talk about clever twists, whether in music or in stories, and how these twists can be delightful in their subversion of our expectations -- when done well. In this less-than-famous little prelude from the famous compilation The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach uses deceptive cadences to add flavor to the music without sacrificing the form, in such a way that the music feels inevitable. Prelude No. 15 from WTC Book 2, performed on harpsichord by Christine Schornsheim for the Netherlands Bach S...

Today we talk about clever twists, whether in music or in stories, and how these twists can be delightful in their subversion of our expectations -- when done well. In this less-than-famous little prelude from the famous compilation The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach uses deceptive cadences to add flavor to the music without sacrificing the form, in such a way that the music feels inevitable.

Prelude No. 15 from WTC Book 2, performed on harpsichord by Christine Schornsheim for the Netherlands Bach Society

Thanks as always to Netherlands Bach Society for the use of their excellent recordings as our musical examples!

Excerpt from Mozart's Symphony no. 40 in G minor, mvt.4, from Das Orchester Tsumugi, Fukuoka, Japan; public domain recording (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0)

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