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Parodies in Bach’s Vocal Works: Parodies in J.S. Bach vocal works | Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Annex: Excel Tables


Arrangements & Transcriptions of Bach's Works
Arrangements & Works inspired by Well-Tempered Clavier BWV 847-869 & BWV 879-893 (WTC)

Contents

Introduction
Complete Sets of Preludes & Fugues
Complete Sets of Preludes (and other works)
Groups of Preludes & Fugues
Works in other Arts inspired by WTC

Introduction

J.S. Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier in all of the 24 major and minor keys (WTC; popularly known as the ‘48’) was clearly modelled on Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer's Ariadne musica, a set of 20 short preludes and fugues in a chromatic key order ascending from C to B. Bach adopted an identical overall plan, adding the five keys missing from J.C.F. Fischer's set, C-sharp major, D-sharp minor, (E-flat minor), F-sharp major, G-sharp minor (A-flat minor). Numerous thematic correspondences further attest to the importance of the older composer's example. Ariadne first appeared in 1702, but it seems likely that Bach knew it only from the 1715 reissue: preliminary work on Part 1 of the '48' was probably carried out during the period 1715-1720. J.S. Bach's two books of preludes and fugues - the WTC were completed in 1722 and 1744 respectively.

After J.S. Bach's death in 1750 the '48' continued to be studied by keyboard and composition students, particularly in central Germany. The partly subliminal influence of the work on J.S. Bach's sons should not be underestimated. But the decisivemoment in its posthumous history arrived when Mozart was introduced to it by Baron van Swieten in 1782. Thereafter it influenced the contrapuntal writing of countless composers (notable 20th-century examples being Paul Hindemith and Dmitri Shostakovich) and it has formed a fundamental part of the training of virtually every musician in keyboard playing, composition, analysis, and general musicianship.

Many composers have written a set of preludes & fugues in most or all of the 24 major and minor keys. The use of this format is generally inspired by J.S. Bach’s WTC. Below you will find a list of all known compositions of complete sets of preludes & fugues, most of them are natuarlluy for keyboard instrument. For the sake of completeness, I have also added a list of all known complete sets of preludes or other works.

Complete Sets of Preludes & Fugues

Composer

Work

Year

Works
Recordings

Piano / Keyboard

Mark Alburger (b 1957)
12 Preludes & Fugues for keyboard (“Topical”), Op. 60 (1998). Works
24 Preludes & Fugues for keyboard ("Standards"), Op. 162 (2008). Works

Algernon Ashton (1859-1937)
24 Preludes & Fugues. Works

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1: 24 Preludes & Fugues:, BWV 846-869 (1722). Details | Recordings
Well-tempered Clavier, Book 2: 24 Preludes & Fugues:, BWV 870-893 (1744). Details | Recordings

Niels Viggo Bentzon (1919-2000)

Det temperede klaver (The Tempered Piano), Vols 1-14 (each volume consisting of 48 preludes & fugues)

1964-1996

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 1, Op. 157
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen, 1966]

1964

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 2, Op. 379
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 3, Op. 400
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 4, Op. 409
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

1978

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 5, Op. 428
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 6, Op. 470
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

1985

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 7, Op. 530
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen, 1989]

1988-1989

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 8, Op. 532
[Edition Wilhelm Hansen]

1989

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 9, Op. 541

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 10, Op. 542

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 11, Op. 546

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 12, Op. 554

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 13, Op. 633

Works

Niels Viggo Bentzon

The Tempered Piano, Vol. 14, Op. 638

Works

David Cope (b 1941)

The Well-Tempered Disklavier, 48 preludes & fugues for keyboard

1991

Works

Stéphane Delplace (b 1953)

Préludes & Fugues dans les Trente Tonalités - Livre I

1994

Works

Stéphane Delplace

Préludes & Fugues dans les Trente Tonalités - Livre II

2008

Works

David Diamond (1915-2005)

52 Preludes & Fugues, for piano

1939-1940

Works

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656-1746)

Ariadne musica Neo-organoedum, for keyboard/pipe organ (The 1st part contains 20 preludes & fugues in 19 different keys and one in the Phrygian mode based on E. It is considered a significant precursor to J.S. Bach's WTC. Bach held Fischer's work in high regard)

1702

<<<

Michelle Gorrell

Well-tempered licks & grooves : 24 preludes & fugues for piano in jazz styles in two volumes. Book 1
[London: Boosey & Hawkes, 2010]

2010

Works

Hiroshi Hara (1933-2002)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano

1981

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

Ludus Tonalis for piano: a prelude, 11 interludes, and a postlude, all separated by 12 fugues.

1940

Hans Huber (1852-1921)

24 Preludes & Fugues in all keys for piano four hands, Op. 100

(early 20th c.)

Alexander Iakovtchouk (b 1952)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano

1983

Salomon Jadassohn (1831-1902)

18 Preludes & Fugues for piano, Op. 56

1879

Works-

David Johnson (b 1942)

12 Preludes & Fugues for piano

1996

Nikolai Kapustin (b 1937)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano, Op. 82

1997

August Alexander Klengel (1784-1852)

48 Canons & Fugues 48 for the piano in all ofthe major & minor keys

1855

Craig Sellar Lang (1891-1971)

A miniature 48; two books of short preludes & fugues in all keys. Op. 64, for piano solo
[London: Augener, 1953]

1949

Trygve Madsen (b 1940)

24 Preludes & Fugues, for piano, Op. 101

1995-1996

Henry Martin (b 1950)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano
[Margun Music]

1990-2000

Bruce Cameron Munson (b 1960)

24 Tonal Preludes & Fugues for piano

Georgy Mushel (1909-1989)

Dvadtsat' chetyre Prelyudii i fugi dlya fortepiano (24 Preludes & Fugues, for piano)

1975

Frank Tveor Nordensten (b 1955)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano

1994

Pavel Zemek Novak (b 1957)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano

Rodion Shchedrin (b 1932)

24 Preludes & Fugues, for piano
Book I “sharp keys”, Op. 29
Book II “flat keys”, Op 45
[Sikorski, Hamburg]
[Russian State Music, 1975]

-
1964
1970

Works
Recordings

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

24 Preludes & Fugues for piano, Op. 87

1950-1951

Works
Recordings

Sergei Slonimsky (b 1932)

24 Preludes & Fugues, for piano

Bernhard Christian Weber (1712-1758)

The Well-Tempered Clavier: 24 preludes & fugues in all the keys, for organ/keyboard
[Breitkopf & Härtel, 1933]

1743

Ron Weidberg (b 1953)

Voyage to the end of the millenium: 24 preludes & fugues for piano
[Tel-Aviv: Israeli Music Center, 1999]

1999

Julius Weismann (1879-1950)

Der Fugenbaum (Fugue Tree), Op. 150 (24 preludes & fugues in all the keys).

1946

Organ

Richard White

24 Preludes and Fugues for organ

Guitar

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

Les guitares bien tempérées: 24 préludes et fugues pour 2 guitares, Op. 199
[Bruzzichelli, c1974]

1974

Works

Igor Rekhin:

24 Preludes and Fugues for guitar solo

Complete Sets of Preludes (and other works)

Composer

Work

Year

Works
Recordings

Piano / Keboard

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)

25 Preludes for piano, Op. 31

1847

Works-
Recordings-

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)

12 Etudes in all the major keys for piano, Op.35
12 Eatudes in all the minor keys for piano, Op.39

Works-
Recordings

Algernon Ashton (1859-1937)

'cycle' of 24 piano sonatas, covering the entire key scheme

Lera Auerbach (b 1973)

24 Preludes for Piano, Op.41

1999

Ludwig van. Beethoven (1770-1827)

2 sets of preludes, Op. 39; each one cycles through all of the major keys of the piano

Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 17
[Leipzig: M.P. Belaïeff, 1892]

1892

York Bowen (1884-1961)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 102

1950

Works-

Abram Chasins (1903-1987)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 12
[Boston: Oliver Ditson Co., 1928]

1928

Works-

Charles Chaulieu (1788-1849)

24 petits préludes: dans les tons majeurs et mineurs, Op. 9, for piano
[Paris: Lemoine, c1820]

1820

Charles Chaulieu (1788-1849)

Eighteen nouveaux et petits préludes pour le piano, oú l'on a employé tous les signes usités en musique pour les mouvemens et les nuances, Op. 99
[London : Published by R. Cocks & Co., 1825]

1825

Erik Chisholm

24 Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 28

1835-1839

Works

Sarah Jane Cion (b 1967)

Lara’s Lullabies, 17 individual ballads for piano

2012

Works

Giuseppe Concone (1801-1861)

24 Brilliant Preludes for piano, Op. 37

Edward Cowie (b 1943)
24 Preludes for piano (2005-2007)

Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858)

Pensière musicale 24 preludes melodiques, ou, cadences, improvisations, et caprices pour le piano, Op. 91
[London: Cramer, Addison, et Beale]

1842

César Cui (1835-1918)

24 Preludes for piano

1903

Geoffrey Cummings-Knight

24 Preludes for piano
[Aylesbury, England: Roberton Publications ; Bryn Mawr, Pa. : USA and Canada, T. Presser, 1987]

1987

Carl Czerny (1791-1857)

24 Preludes for piano

Works-

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

24 Preludes for piano:
Book 1: 12 Preludes
Book 2: 12 Preludes

-
1910
1913

Hans Gál (1890-1987)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 83
[London: Universal Edition, 1965]

1959-1960

Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (1875-1956)

24 Preludes for piano

1907

Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)

12 American Preludes (Doce Preludios Americanos)

1944

Works

Boris Goltz (1913-1942)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 83

1934

Stephen Heller (1814-1868)

24 Preludes, Op. 81
[Breitkopf & Härtel]

1853

Stephen Heller (1814-1868)

24 Piano Studies doe Rhythm and Expression, Op. 125

Henri Herz (1803-1888)

24 Exercices et préludes pour piano: dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs, Op. 21

Joseph William Holder (1764-1832)

28 Preludes for piano, composed expressely for the publishers, with additions by C. Chaulieu
[London: D'Almaine & Co., 1848]

1848

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 67

1815

Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 38

1943

Works-
Recordings-

Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1785-1849)

24 Preludes for piano

Kara Karayev (1918-1982):

24 Preludes for piano

1951-1961

Nikolai Kapustin (b 1937)

24 Preludes in Jazz Style for piano, Op. 53

Joseph Christoph Kessler (1800-1872)

24 Études for piano, Op. 20

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

12 Etudes (only halfway round the key cycle, and were finished off much later as an act of homage by Liapunov)

Works-
Recordings-

John McLeod

12 Preludes for piano

Walter Niemann (1876-1953)

24 Preludes

Works-

Selim Palmgren (1878-1951)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 17

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)

24 Preludes for piano:
Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2
10 Preludes, Op. 23
13 Preludes, Op. 32

-
1892
1903
1910

Works-
Recordings-

Johann Christian Schickhardt (1682-1762)

Alphabet de la Musique, Op.30: 24 sonatas in all the keys for flute, violin or recorder.

1735

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 11

1896

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 34

1933

Works-
Recordings-

Rodion Shchedrin (b 1932)

Polyphonic Notebook, 25 Polyphonic Preludes for piano, Op. 50
[Hamburg: Sikorski; Edition number: SIK2206]
[Moscow: Sovetskij kompozitor, 1974]
[Mainz: Schott Music & Media, 2007]

1972

Works
Recordings

Konstantin Sorokin (1908-1981)

24 Preludes for piano (written for childre)

1975

Charles Villiers Stanford: (1852-1924)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 163

1918

Charles Villiers Stanford: (1852-1924)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 179

1921

Yevgeny Svetlanov

12 Preludes for piano
[Moscow: Muzyka, 1986]

1986

Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977)

12 Preludes for piano, Op. 8
[Edward B. Marks Music Corp., New York, 1956]
[Frankfurt : Belaieff, 1972]

1952-1953

Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1991)

24 Preludes for piano

1971

August Winding (1835-1899)

24 Preludes

Works-

John R Williamson (b 1940)

12 New Preludes (1993)
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 1 (1996)
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 2 ()
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 3 ()
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 4 ()
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 5 (2000)
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 6 ()
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 7 ()
12 Palindromic Preludes Set 8 ()

1993
1996



2000

Edward Wolff

24 Études en forme de Preludes

Valery Zhelobinsky (1913-1946)

24 Preludes for piano, Op. 20

1934

Lute/Guitar

Adam Falkenhagen (1697-1754)

Preludio nel quale sono contenuti tutti i tuoni musicali, for lute (Prelude which contains all the musical tones)

2nd half of 18th c.

Vincenzo Galilei (c1520-1591)

Ricercare Per Liuto Dal "Fronimo"
[Milan: Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1970; edited by Orlando Chritoforetti]
24 Ricercare "per b molle" and "per b durum" arranged for modern guitar by Orlando Chritoforetti
[ Also see Galilei, Vincenzo (transl. Carol MacClintock). Fronimo: 1584. [S.l.]: American Institute of Musicology, 1985]

Jacomo Gorzanis (1520/1525-1575/1579)

Die Pass' e mezzi und Saltarelli aus der Münchner Lautenhandschrift von Jacomo Gorzanis: (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Mus. Mss. 151la)
[Tutzing: Schneider, 1979; edited by Issam El-Mallah].
24 Passamezzos modernos (“major”) and anticos (“minor”) with saltarellos

1567

Manuel Ponce (1882-1948)

24 Preludes for Guitar

1929

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)

Prelude which contains all the musical tones, for lute [now lost]

John Wilson

Thirty Preludes in All (24) Keys for Lute: Facsimile and Transcription of the Manuscript
[Oxford, Bodleian Library Mus. B 1; Utrecht: The Diapason Press, 1992; edited by Matthew Spring]

Various Instrumentaions

Algernon Ashton (1859-1937)

'cycle' of 24 string quartets, covering the entire key scheme

Lera Auerbach (b 1973)

24 Preludes for Violin and Piano, Op.46

1999

Lera Auerbach (b 1973)

24 Preludes for Cello and Piano, Op.47

1999

Groups of Preludes & Fugues (not complete sets)

Composer

Work

Year

Works
Recordings

Piano / Keyboard

Richard C. Bellak

Fugal Dreams: Jazz Preludes and Fugues for Piano

Antonio De Cabezon

Tientos and Fugues for Solo Piano.

George Chadwick

3 Preludes and Fugues for Keyboard (1928).

Antonin Dvorak

8 Preludes and Fugues

George Enescu

Preludes and Fugues (1903)

Wesley Octavius Forsyth

Keyboard Preludes and Fugues

Mark Goddard

Bach buster fugues. Book 2: beautiful music revitalised from dark corners of J.S. Bach's 48 preludes & fugues book 2 (4 fugues from the 2nd book of 'Das Wohltemperierte Klavier' in simplified piano versions)
[Laggan Bridge: Spartan Press, 2011]

2011

Christophe Guyard

7 Preludes & Fugues for piano, Op. 47.

Dmitri Kabalevsky

6 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 61.

Juris Karlsons

Preludes and Fugues for 2 Pianos.

Leslie Mann

2 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 29 (1972)

Felix Mendelsohn

6 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 35 (1832-1837)

Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz

3 Little Preludes and Fugues (1995)

Flor Peeters

3 Preludes and Fugues (1950)

Max Reger

6 Preludes and Fugues for Piano, Op. 99

Anton Rubinstein

6 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op.53

Clara Schumann

3 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Op. 16 (1845)

Harold Truscott

2 Preludes and Fugues for piano (1957)

Soulima Stravinsky

3 Preludes and Fugues for piano "In Memorium Igor Stravinsky".

Organ

Camille Saint-Saëns

3 Preludes and Fugues for organ, Op 99 & Op 109

Arthur Wills:

Preludes and Fugues for organ

Guitar

Gilbert Biberian

6 Preludes and Fugues for Solo Guitar

Various Instrumentations

Sources:

Dean's Den: Fugues and Fugue Sets
Prelude and fugue (Wikipedia)
List of fugues and fugal compositions by composers lived in the XIX century (Kunst der Fuge)
Preludes in all the keys (Discussion in Uunsung Composers)
Malcolm Boyd (Editor): Oxford Composer Companion - J.S. Bach (Oxford University Press, 1999), pp 515-518

 

Works in other Arts inspired by WTC

Artist

Work

Year

Page

C.W. Hansen

Fugue #1, Well Tempered Clavier

Art-1736

Elizabeth Harington

Etchings on J.S. Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 858-868)

Elizabeth Harington

Christopher Hogue

Triptych: Three preludes and fugues from Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I”

2007

Memo-2498

Theo Radic

Series based on Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier

Theo Radic

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (September 2011 - June 2022)
Thanks to contributors: Arthur Ness (September 2011)


Arrangements & Transcriptions: Main Page | Accordion | Brass Ensemble | Cello | Clarinet | Flute | Harp | Horn | Oboe | Orchestra | Organ | Piano | Saxophone | String Ensemble | Synthesizer/Computers | Trombone | Trumpet | Viola | Violin | Wind Ensemble | Chamber Ensemble | Vocal Works | Bach & Other Cultures | Bach in Jazz | Bach in Rock/Pop | BACH motif | Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2
Parodies in Bach’s Vocal Works: Parodies in J.S. Bach vocal works | Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Annex: Excel Tables




 

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