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In Tune

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Sean Rafferty presents a selection of music and guests from the arts world.

AN INTRODUCTION TO BACH'S MUSIC WITH UNSPECIFIED INSTRUMENTATION

KEY WORKS

Musical Offering BWV 1079
Art of the Fugue BWV 1080

    Music with unspecified instrumentation - an introduction

    Prominent among Bach's 'miscellaneous' works are canons. The canon is a musical composition based on a melody which appears in two or more musical lines beginning at different times.

    Canonic writing is a challenging intellectual discipline in musical composition, and Bach enjoyed setting canonic problems as tasks for friends and pupils.

    As well as free-standing canons, Bach incorporated canonic writing into many works, including the Orgel-Büchlein BWV 599-644, the Goldberg Variations BWV 988, the Art of Fugue BWV 1080, and the Musical Offering BWV 1079. One of the most compelling examples of Bach's canonic writing is the Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch BWV 769 for organ - the music shows the brilliance of Bach's imagination and technical skill in managing the complexities of the music.


    © GRAEME KAY/BBC

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