Eight Short Preludes and Fugues


The Eight Short Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553–560, are a collection of works for keyboard and pedal formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. They are now believed to have been composed by one of Bach's pupils, possibly Johann Tobias Krebs or his son Johann Ludwig Krebs, or by the Bohemian composer Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer.

History and attribution

While originally attributed to Bach, scientific examination of the extant manuscripts by Alfred Dürr in 1987 and subsequent stylistic analysis of the score by Peter Williams have suggested that the eight preludes and fugues might have been composed by one of his pupils, Johann Ludwig Krebs. As Williams explains, whoever the composer was, the works show an ability to compose in diverse ways—the toccata, the Italian concerto, the galant style, the fughetta and the durezze style with slow suspensions, favoured by Girolamo Frescobaldi. It has not yet been possible to date the compositions, but Williams writes: "Though frequently charming and melodious, they could hardly have been written by J. S. Bach for his pupils since their 'standard of counterpoint and general musicianship' does not fit the period in question, nor does the scarcity of copies suggest they were much used, even as part of a bigger compendium. Nevertheless, the pieces do amount to a fine book for learners, teaching whether or how to add pedal, use a second manual, and register according to so-called key characteristics."
Various possible composers have been suggested for these little preludes and fugues, including Johann Ludwig Krebs, Johann Tobias Krebs, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Franz Anton Maichelbeck and Johann Caspar Simon. Prior to Dürr's scientific research on manuscripts, the 19th-century scholar Philipp Spitta had judged that the works bore the "stamp of commanding mastery"; and Sir George Grove, another 19th-century scholar, declared that "on stylistic grounds neither seems likely." Even though in 1952 the Bach scholar Walter Emery wrote about the works that "there seems no reason why they should not have been written about 1730–50 by some minor composer in central Germany, whether or not he was a pupil of Bach's," Williams thinks that the likely composer—the "eminence grise" as he puts it—is most probably the composer Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer from Bohemia. As justification Williams describes the form of the preludes and fugues:

Preludes and fugues

These pieces came to be played often on the organ in the 19th and 20th centuries, and were especially useful as teaching pieces for beginners. Subsequent scholarship has suggested that this collection was conceived specifically for the pedal clavichord, thereby making the stylistic claim of inauthenticity far less tenable. Several elements of the pieces, including the rolling of large chords, octave doublings and repeated notes, and the patterns of movement of the fingers and feet, the rhythm, and overall texture are idiomatic on the clavichord but make little sense on the organ. In 1998 Harald Vogel recorded the collection on a pedal clavichord.
The eight preludes and fugues are:

Selected recordings

Organ
Pedal clavichord
Mandolin
  • Mark Delisle, 2018, ASIN: B07K2MBWXS.
Piano
Brass ensemble