Bach, Fugue 20, Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, A minor, BWV 889

FAQ

Fugue 20 in A minor from Book II of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, performed on the Roland VP-550 Vocal and Ensemble Keyboard by Stephen Malinowski, accompanied by scrolling music notation and bar-graph score.

Q: Where can I get the sheet music for this piece?
A: Here:
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/bwv998f_score.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, which is 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 with a vocoder, I highly recommend Don Lewis's 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 separately.

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).

Q: Why do the scores move at different speeds?
A: The bar-graph score is graphical, and in it, time translates exactly into horizontal position; conventional notation is symbolic, so there is usually one symbol per note, regardless of whether it's a long or a short note, and the symbols are more or less evenly spaced (for legibility); so, when the notes are faster, the notation needs to move faster to keep up.
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Category:

Music

Tags:

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

[Superstarrockmetal]

ugliest Bach I've ever heard

[1banders]

@smalin In modern German "Klavier" means piano. "Fluegel" (literally "wing") is also used for piano. A "grand piano" is "Konzertfluegel"

But in Bach's time, "Clavier" (as it was spelled then) was a generic term that could refer to any kind of keyboard instrument, or even to a manual (i.e, keyboard) of an organ. A specifc term for harpsichord was "Cembalo" (from the Italian Clavicembalo). But unless precluded by the context, Clavier was typically understood to mean harpsichord..

[erikopalis]

the dos and dees and dums and dohs are the thing that make this peice weard.

[erikopalis]

do do  do do dee dee dum dum ? that's what it sounded like.

[Neonalfax]

The start of the fugue reminded me 'Kyrie Eleison' of Mozart K626...

[orangeandaxe]

@smalin a real music enthusiast would refer to the piano as "Flügel" or "Klimperkasten" to avoid confusion when both instruments are present

[smalin]

@orangeandaxe So, to distinguish a piano from a harpsichord, a German would not say "Klavier" (since that applies to both) but something else, right?

[orangeandaxe]

@smalin Klavier is a general term, so it would not be wrong, but the original (now old) term for harpsichord is "das Clavicymbel" - similar to "cembalo"

[smalin]

@orangeandaxe Okay ... but what about "Klavier"? Does that mean "piano" or "keyboard"? Would it be a mistake to call a harpsichord a "Klavier" in German?

[orangeandaxe]

@smalin Not exactly. The precise word is Klimperkasten (literally "clinking box")