Bach, prelude bwv 998

"A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good"

BWV 998, Collage

Prelude BWV 998, from Prelude Fugue
& Allegro: JS Bach
Bach, BVW 998

I was struck by the beauty of this Bach Prelude from the first time I heard it played by Williams in his Complete Lute suites double LP from the late 1970s. I worked on the piece with Abel Carlevaro in Montevideo and the fingering that the Uruguayan Maestro posed was simply irresistible. The phrasing comes out natural and the player can concentrate on the marvelous sequence.
What a genius this man was...what a gift to humanity ! A 12 notes sequence per measure is all the Master needs to capture our soul's attention...The phrase starts with the high D (second note of the phrase) and ends with the low D at the beginning of the second measure.
Make sure you see the phrase from this perspective in order to put the emphasis in the right place.

2MB Live in Australia, Montsalavt
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-HEAR it-
played by Renato Bellucci
CD "Chaconne"

6=D means that string 6 is tuned down from a low E to a low D. Hear how to do this by clicking on the real audio image below

Video 1

To see video, click on the image
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Analysis:

Repeated finger sequence. In the video you see Segovia plucking the second string twice with the i finger.
With Baroque music, and especially with Bach, the opening phrase must be kept as square and straightforward as possible. No vibrato, no tenuto...simply present the idea. That is where a repeated finger sequence comes in handy. I use the a repeatedly to even out the sound to the maximum. In the video below, you can see Segovia doing the same with the i finger in the Chaconne. Use finger 3 as a lever to bring up the hand to play the F and the G in measure 1. Use the low D and a breathing point.

Asuncion, Wednesday, September 8th 2004