Thanks for your feedback on the last few episodes. I’ve gathered my listeners enjoy piecing together musical cells in their minds, so today’s episode will bring you more of that.
The eight surviving canons, BWVs 1072-1078 (+BWV deest) were written on small pieces of paper or penned into registry books. Their compact content, usually only a few notes, is then ‘solved:’ copied and transformed to make a perpetual piece of music in several voices.
You will hear the solutions in the episode. Here is how they appear on the page:
This is the first canon discussed. From these two measures of music, eight voices are formed.
This is the second canon discussed: a four-voice canon with each voice entering a successive fifth higher than the last. It’s the four clefs at the beginning of the line that clue you in on this. The %-like symbol shows you where the next voice enters.
This is BWV 1074, the mysterious ‘Houdemann’ canon. Note the four clefs on the left of the staff, but also the four clefs to the right. They are inverted with a different key signature. Bach here was exploring the a truly symmetrical— not merely diatonic— inversion.
The final canon of the episode. The charming two-voice canon for one of his Godchildren. This canon is simple to solve and the easiest to comprehend.
Yes, the famous F-A-B-E-R, “mi fa, et fa mi est tota musica” canon will be in one of the next episodes— rest assured!
How To Support This Podcast:
or become a paid subscriber at wtfbach.substack.com
The first three albums of the 'Complete Works for Solo Keyboard' are live everywhere. Stream while sleeping to achieve maximum effect.
Volume One:
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ycy2fab7
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/nhfuws4t
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/mrxj7pws
Volume Two:
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/msjyhamh
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/mtykbxnz
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/3m7b9v6w
Volume Three:
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4xneak6r
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/mr44kwmf
Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/3e4kwnsb
Share this post