Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 547
by Johann Sebastian Bach
BWV 547, composed presumably during Bach's Leipzig period (c. 1730–1744), is widely considered the finest of Bach's C major organ works and one of the supreme examples of the form. The Prelude is remarkable for its continuous triplet motion in the pedal, creating a serenely rolling foundation above which the manual voices weave an intricate polyphonic tapestry; it achieves a quality of luminous tranquillity unmatched in the organ repertoire. The Fugue, in 9/8 time, is a masterpiece of contrapuntal ingenuity: its subject, with its characteristic dotted-rhythm opening, generates a chain of entries in ever-shifting combinations before the final pages build to an overwhelming climax of accumulated counterpoint. Together the movements form a perfect arch of Baroque design — rhapsodic freedom followed by intellectual rigour — and the work is a test piece for advanced organists worldwide.
Editions
Bärenreiter
Heinz-Harald Löhlein, 1987
Neue Bach Ausgabe critical edition; the scholarly standard for organ works, prepared from primary manuscript sources.
Breitkopf & Härtel
Friedrich Conrad Griepenkerl, 1844
Historic nineteenth-century edition; the first widely distributed printed source and influential on generations of organists.
Peters
Hermann Keller, 1948
Standard Peters performing edition with fingerings and registration suggestions; the most used edition in the mid-twentieth century.