Prelude and Fugue No 16 in A Flat major, BWV 862 (1722)

By Sujanti Djuanda

"Thank God! I have learnt something absolutely new," said Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when heard Bach's hymn for the first time. Johann Sebastian Bach's music was most influential in the history of western music despite in his lifetime it was regarded as "old-fashioned". The growth of J.S. Bach music's stature continued in subsequent years since his "St Matthew Passion" was performed by Felix Mendelssohn in Berlin (1829).

The WTC Book I, which considered as the Old Testament of keyboard works, seems to be inspired by the composition of the organist, Johann Fischer, "Ariadne musica neo-organoedum" (a collection of 20 preludes and fugues in ten major and nine minor keys) that published in 1702. But Johann Sebastian Bach produced the mature compositions as first collection of 24 preludes and fugues in all keys. It composed for "musical youth desirous of learning as well as for the Pastime of those Already Skilled in this Study" as written on the title page.

It appeared in 1722 when Johann Sebastian Bach, as a chapel master and director of chamber music at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, just lost his wife, Maria Barbara (died suddenly in 1720) and married a soprano, Anna Magdalena Wilcke (1721). Many Johann Sebastian Bach manuscripts copies made by his pupils, were circulated to all Europe then finally WTC published 51 years after Bach's death (1801).

The Prelude begins with eighth-notes in heroic and dance-like then turns into a more cheerful expression in sixteenth notes. The initial motive occurs in every bar of the piece, except two bars in the middle and two more near the end and all subsidiary thematic materials are in counterpoints.

The Fugue likes a noble music which referred as the "cathedral" fugue includes hope, quite optimism and relief as its characters. It is called 'tonal' with the tonic replying to dominant and vice versa in the answer, in such a way the latter becomes totally different with the subject.

The answers of subject which called countersubject appears first but subsequently takes other forms, the only material which mostly appears are flowing tenor of its groups of semiquavers. The numerous episodes are all founded in variations and developments of the counter subject.

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