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Baroque · prelude

Prelude No. 20 in A minor, BWV 865 (WTC I)

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 7, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A manuscript from 1722, a printed afterlife around 1800. Prelude No. 20 in A minor, BWV 865 (WTC I) is a prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 7, an estimate.

On this page
  • prelude
  • Baroque
  • Key of A minor
  • stormy

Also known as Das Wohltemperierte Clavier I, Praeludium XX.

History

Prelude No. 20 in A minor, BWV 865 (WTC I) belongs to the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach's collection fair copy is dated 1722. For many years its life was in manuscript: around 1800, publishers in Zurich, Bonn and Vienna/Leipzig brought competing editions into print. That long journey from manuscript to publication is part of this piece's wider history.

Sources

What to listen for

  1. Broken figures above a recurring low cell

    The upper lead-in opens into broken figures above recurring low A and a rocking pattern. Hear both the moving shape and the repeated foundation.

  2. Lower motion answers held upper chords

    Long upper chords and decorative notes receive increasingly mobile lower replies. Listen for the movement below the held sound.

  3. Related figures continue at changed levels

    Held-note blocks and moving figures change pitch level and register before the A-related opening returns. Follow their connection through the changes.

  4. A long low A supports the last decoration

    Low A is sustained while inner notes and the final upper ornament continue. Hear the layers settle into the closing major sonority.

How to practise it

Mixed subdivisions in compound metre; bass repetition differs from upper outline.

  1. Organise the unequal approach inside the compound pulse and preserve its later silence.
  2. Rehearse the lower recurring-note pattern independently from the upper contour.

How hard is it

Level 7, estimated

Interacting lines and recurring figures require rhythmic steadiness and a clear hierarchy of melodic gestures.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Johann Sebastian Bach, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Collection
The prelude gallery
Licence
Public Domain
Source
mutopiaproject.org

More by Johann Sebastian Bach

  1. Prelude in C major, BWV 846Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
  2. Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
  3. Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: III. PrestoLevel 9, estimatedWith Maestro

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Mixed subdivisions in compound metre; bass repetition differs from upper outline.

Practise it in PlayPiano