Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543

Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach^[1] sometime around his years as court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708–1717).

Versions

First page of the Prelude BWV 543/1a (19th-century copy)^[2]

Prelude

An alternate version of the organ piece is numbered BWV 543a. As for this earlier version only the prelude is different, that version of the prelude is sometimes indicated by BWV 543/1a (BWV 543/2, that is the fugue, being identical in both versions).^[3]

Fugue

The fugue of BWV 543 is the final incarnation of Bach's harpsichord Fugue in A minor, BWV 944, written in 1708.

Score

Prelude

	Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 – Prelude Performed by organist Noah Horn
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The musical materials of the prelude are a descending chromatic bassline and simple arpeggiated chords above it; this is first stated solo in the manual, and, after a lengthy embellishment of a tonic pedal point, in the pedal. The highly embellished cadence that follows—full of manual runs over sustained pedal notes—leads into a contrapuntal exploration of the opening material in sequence; this is followed by a very free peroration. The Toccata-like prelude—in the stylus phantasticus—bears the marks of Bach's early, north German-influenced style, while the fugue could be considered a later product of Bach's maturity.

Fugue

	Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 – Fugue Performed by organist Noah Horn
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The fugue is in 6/8 time, unlike the prelude, which is in 4/4 time. The fugue theme, like that of the prelude, is composed of arpeggiated chords and downward sequences, especially in its later half. Due to the sequential nature of the subject, the majority of the fugue is composed of sequences or cadences. The Fugue ends in one of Bach's most toccata-like, virtuosic cadenzas in the harmonic minor. Unlike most of Bach's minor-key keyboard works, it ends on a minor chord rather than a picardy third.

Arrangements

Liszt's transcription

	Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 Liszt's transcription performed by Raymond Smullyan
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Because of the piece's overall rhapsodic nature, many organists play this piece freely, and in a variety of tempi; it can be easily transcribed to a different instrument. Liszt included it in his transcriptions of the "six great preludes and fugues" BWV 543-8 for piano (S. 462).^[4]

The Sicilian Clan

Italian composer Ennio Morricone created a variation of Prelude and Fugue in A minor for the main theme of the French movie The Sicilian Clan.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BWV 543 – Prelude and Fugue in A minor for organ.

Prelude and Fugue in A minor: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Free download of BWV 543 recorded by James Kibbie on the 1736 Erasmus Bielfeldt organ in St. Wilhadi, Stade, Germany
PDF of Liszt's Piano transcription of BWV 543

Compositions for Organ, Keyboard and Lute by Johann Sebastian Bach

Organ	Fugue in G minor, BWV 131a (doubtful) Sonatas, BWV 525–530 Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 Toccata and Fugue in D minor ("Dorian"), BWV 538 Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540 Fantasia and Fugue in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542 Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 Prelude and Fugue in E minor ("Wedge"), BWV 548 Eight Short Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553–560 (doubtful) Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562 Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564 Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in E major, BWV 566 Fugue in G minor ("Little"), BWV 578 Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599–644 Schübler Chorales, BWV 645–650 Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668 Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769 Neumeister chorales, BWV 1090–1120 Chorale fantasia Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128

Keyboard	Aria variata alla maniera italiana Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue English Suites French Suites Goldberg Variations (discography, Gould recording) Inventions and Sinfonias Italian Concerto Overture in the French style Partitas for Keyboard (No. 4, No. 6) Prelude in E minor, BWV 855a Six Little Preludes The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893 (Preludes and Fugues in Book I: C major, BWV 846, C♯ minor, BWV 849, G minor, BWV 861; in Book II: C major, BWV 870, F minor, BWV 881)

Lute	Suite in G minor, BWV 995 Suite in E minor, BWV 996 (Bourrée) Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ major, BWV 998 Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000

Mixed collections	Clavier-Übung III: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major ("St. Anne"), BWV 552 / Chorale preludes, BWV 669–689 / Duets, BWV 802–805 Concerto arrangements for solo keyboard, BWV 592–597 and 972–987 Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Twelve Little Preludes

List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach

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