Bach, Fugue 4, C-sharp minor, Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 849

FAQ

Fugue 4 in C-sharp minor from Book I of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 849, performed on the Roland VP-550 Vocal and Ensemble Keyboard by Stephen Malinowski, accompanied by a scrolling bar-graph score.

Q: Where can I get the sheet music for this piece?
A: The standard score for the prelude and fugue is here:
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/IMSLP02209-BWV0849.pdf
If you want an "open" score (one staff per voice in the fugue), here's the one I used:
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/wtk1f4.pdf

Q: What are we hearing and how did you create it?
A: The voice-like sounds you're hearing are made by me singing and playing through the Roland VP-550 Vocal & Ensemble Keyboard, a vocoder that's been enhanced to make its output sound more like singers. Here's an article on vocoders:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocoder
If you want to see what it looks like when a person is performing live with the VP-550, I recommend Don Lewis's wonderful performance of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TdQwOUGaFs
The main difference between what Don's doing and what I did is that I performed each voice of the fugue separately.

Q: I don't quite get it; are your hands playing what I'm hearing?
A: My hands are playing the same piece, but I'm just playing along with the recording I already made (I just thought you might find it interesting to see how a five-voice fugue is played on a keyboard).

Q: Is there a way I could make the bar-graph scores myself?
A: The Music Animation Machine MIDI file player will generate this display; you can get the (Windows) software here:
http://www.musanim.com/player/
There are lots of places on the web where you can get MIDI files; I usually go to the Classical Archives site first:
http://www.classicalarchives.com/

Q: Could you please do a MAM video of _________?
A: First, check my "to do" list:
http://www.musanim.com/all/MAMToDoList.html ...
If the piece isn't listed, read the "Could you please do a MAM video of _________?" item on my main FAQ:
http://www.musanim.com/mam/mamfaq.html#copyright ...
and if you think I'd consider doing it, email me (stephen at musanim dot com).
.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• counterpoint
• harpsichord
• clavichord
• piano
• organ
• swingle
• singers
• scat
• screechy
• baroque
• vocoder
• roland
• wtk
• wtc
• klavier
• vocal

[aarondddyer]

Hell of a performance, Mr. Malinowski, all that apparently without splicing multiple takes.

[smalin]

@aarondddyer It's true that I filmed the video of my hands in one take, but I sang the parts separately.

[yumeybaconcutout]

i hadn't really noticed how magnificent this fugue is until now, for some reason.

[smalin]

@yumeybaconcutout Funny how that happens sometimes ... you listen to a piece you've listened to a bunch of times before, but this time it hits you ... This Is Excellent.

[planetofthescums]

@grands1am Bach is certainly my favourite classical composer. His music is very good.

[altareggo]

Awesome!!! Sounds just like the Swingle Singers. Best performance of this fugue i've EVER heard.

[11011011011100110]

good visualisation

[grands1am]

Sometimes it seems blindingly obvious that Bach is beyond any other music

[Orcmau]

@Hirumette hahahahahaha

HAHAHAHAHAH



[Fratea]

In my humble opinion, the most magnificent fugue of both volumes of the WTC

[newgeorge]

when it comes to Bach I'm a bit of a purist at heart but I still loved this!

[bach422]

Very nice and beautiful performance.. tnx

[flippert0]

Gets played atleast once a day. Really, this piece is a solitair of perfectness, but not a "dead", crystalline one, it is living!

[Hirumette]

* I listen to the video *

* replay *

* end of the video *

* replay *

* end of the video * ...

>> 5 hours Later <<

Mom opens the door .. my son?

-Dudududu dududuuuuuuuuuu .... *0*