Bach’s Prelude in D minor, BWV 999
Welcome to our very first Study Group — a collaborative, peer-led dive into a beautiful piece of music over the course of two weeks.
We’re kicking things off with Bach’s Prelude in D minor, BWV 999!
This is not a course or a class — it’s a space for mutual exploration, discussion, and shared progress. I’ll be learning the piece alongside you (again — it’s been a while!), and I’m excited to discover new things together.
What to expect:
Between June 9th-20th, we’ll focus on:
Fingerings and technique
Harmonic structure and phrasing
Interpretation and expressive choices
Your own questions and perspectives!
We’ll also meet for two live Zoom sessions to share progress, chat about challenges, and nerd out over all things Bach.
How to participate:
- Sign-Up here!
- Grab your score of BWV 999
- Introduce yourself below!
- Join the prompts and discussion!
- Share your thoughts, ideas, or a clip of your playing!
Zoom Call #1 – June 13th, 9am PST
Zoom Call #2 – June 20th, 9am PST
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Among the instruments I play (I should really say 'try to play' because my left hand no longer functions properly) is the baroque lute, for which this prelude may (or may not!) have been intended. Since I have never played any of Bach's music on the lute (almost all of it is exceedingly difficult!) this challenge presents an opportunity for me to at least try to learn one of his works. I intend to use an edition prepared by the Canadian lutenist Clive Titmuss. While the piece is no easier on the lute than it is on the guitar, the lute does offer several advantages: first, the original key of C minor is preserved, and second, the basic arpeggio pattern (involving one note per string) can be maintained throughout. A possible disadvantage is that many of the left hand chord patterns are quite demanding, at least from a lutenist's perspective. (In general, the chord voicings encountered in the baroque lute repertoire are quite easy for the left hand.) I don't know if I'll manage to get this prelude under my fingers by the end of the challenge, but I'll at least get an understanding of its particular difficulties. Hopefully, something of what I learn will be of interest to guitarists!
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Also be aware that most guitar versions have an E as a bass note on mesure 23 when, according to the original score, it should be an F. The Apke's version is right here but for whatever reason he's using an Eb instead of a D# for the following note of the chord!
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Blaise Laflamme I'm using the Hofmeister 'Lautenmusik' version (I have other editions which I need to dig out). Spookily bar 23 is one of only 3 bars with numbers on which made it easier to find. This version has the low E on the 6th string within brackets and an F (4th string 3rd fret - although in this case 5th string 8th fret). It also has an E flat which (according to my reasoning) would make the chord an F minor seventh (or is it a D minor 9th without the root?). The low E seems to be a pedal note as in my edition it is on the first beat of each bar from 17 to 32.
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Blaise Laflamme The low F (Eb in C minor) is available as the open ninth course on the lute. Nonetheless, I was misreading the score and playing it a semitone lower (the open tenth course) until I noticed your post, so thanks for pointing this out! Just to be sure I was playing things correctly, I had a look at the source text of the prelude, which is not in Bach's hand. The first thing I discovered is that the note in question occurs not in measure 23 but in measure 22.
(I counted several times!) Looking more thoroughly at the score, I realized that three of the measures (5, 6 & 7) have a repeat sign in them. If taken literally, that would put our problem note in measure 25! It seems modern editions accept the first of the repetitions (measure 5) but reject the other two. That is probably in accordance with Bach's intention, but it might be interesting to experiment with other possibilities. -
David Krupka But in the end we're looking at the same mesure of music... that said I wonder why most guitar version uses the E pedal (that makes sense in a way) but that's not what is written, also most piano scores use the Eb (in C min) as a bass. So who was the first to keep the E pedal and what was the reasoning about the choice?
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Derek The use of Eb instead of D# changes its meaning while it sounds almost the same (almost because the use of an F for the bass makes a big difference)... to my understanding during this whole section (with the E pedal) we're tonically in A minor and this chord makes far more sense using the original D# as it acts like a predominant to the dominant (V/V or II/V) or in this case bII, better known as the Neapolitan sixth. I wonder who did this change first...
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Blaise Laflamme Those are good questions, Blaise. (I also wonder in what year the piece was first arranged for guitar.) As for why the change was made, I presume the reason had to do with the necessity of playing the F in a different octave. Although this maintains the integrity of the harmonic movement, it rather jarringly disrupts the contour of the bass line. I guess whoever made the editorial decision thought it preferable to preserve the latter, even if this meant altering the harmony. I'm not sure which solution I prefer, but I will note that when I myself was playing it incorrectly (on the lute) it sounded fine to my ear. (That might of course be nothing more than a sad commentary on the capacity of my ear to make a sound musical judgement!)
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David Krupka And they also changed the chord using an Eb instead of a D# (look at my reply to Derek). For sure the octave step changes the bass line and up until I listened to piano / harpsichord versions I've always heard the E bass from guitarists, so I was a bit surprised, lets see what we'll find out about this and the choices we're going to make!
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Blaise Laflamme Hi Blaise. I've found a manuscript on ISMLP which is perhaps the same as the one that you mention. This according to IMSLP is from about 1727. There is a note in the back of my Hofmeister edition which says that he based this version on what appears to be the same manuscript as the one on ISMLP (by Johann Peter Kellner). The note is written in German and my German isn't brilliant but I think he also says in the notes that for bar 23 The bass F (which supposedly was mistaken as a copying mistake for an E) has been transposed up an octave - for technical reasons). Also that in order not to break the pedal E which continues from bar 17 to 32 he has placed the E in brackets and states that it is up to the performer to either leave it ringing from the previous bar or play it with the F. (I've attached a copy of the note so hopefully Martin will provide a better translation!). Note that he has got the BWV number down as 996 not 999 in the note!
Back to the E flat / D sharp, the manuscript has a C sharp so transposing up a tone it should be a D sharp and not E flat. I don't know why the Hofmeister transcription has the E flat - I originally assumed it had been transcribed from Lute Tablature which could result in this mistake but it apparently wasn't.
And sorry to be pedantic about the harmony Blaise (It's not one of my strong points) but now that you've clarified the D sharp issue I make this out to be an F major with an augmented 6th added. If this section is in A minor then the F would be the 6th of the scale (A minor) and so with my very limited understanding (and with the help of my Oxford Book of Harmony) I thought the Neapolitan 6th was built on the flattened supertonic which for A minor would be b flat. The F would be the flattened supertonic of E to which it is resolving. Is that the case? Or am I barking up the wrong tree and I've made a mistake in thinking that the root note of the chord is F.
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Derek Indeed that's weird the error for 996 instead of 999! As for the bII chord, it definitely resolves to the following E7 (with b9), and one of the most common used voicing for the Neapolitain sixth is to use in 2nd inversement with the fifth (F) as the bass note and the third (D#) as the top note, which is not the case here, and then having the effect of both semi-tone resolving in opposite motion. This is definitely a transition chords that helps with its chromatic properties, somehow someone find it more convenient with an Eb chromatically resolving to the following D while having an E as the bass note to continue the pedal (which one could argue the F was a typo). Thanks for the reference from your edition, I think I have it somewhere because the page reminds me of something I know!
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks for the explanation Blaise. As I said harmony (beyond the basics) is not my strong point and particularly with Bach. Just to continue the question then if you don't mind. Are you saying this bar is based on a B9 chord without the root? That would mske sense to me. Thanks Derek
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Derek Yes, it's common to use this chord without the fundamental (in this case Bb), looks at this progression example...
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Blaise Laflamme Thank you for clarifying this for me Blaise. Very much appreciated - sometimes figuring out the harmony is more of a challenge for me than playing a piece (maybe not with this one though :-))
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Derek Well, figuring out harmony is sometimes a challenge as it could be explained in different ways. At least even if some disagree about it I think the most important is to play according to the meaning you think, and then adapt if you change your mind!
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks Blaise
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Blaise Laflamme This has always been an interesting topic to me. I've been back and forth, but now I'm firmly in the 6th string F camp for measure 23. It's tricky to pull off, but if I'm observing the rests and using a guide finger on the jump up, it's doable. I think playing it as an E almost blunts the high point of the piece. Part of my thinking is that if it was supposed to be an E, and sounded better with an E, wouldn't more of the keyboardists, lutenists, harpists, etc. play an E? I might dig out my score and see if I can get it back up to speed.
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Steve Price You're right about this, after watching a few other instrumentists and transcriptions for other instruments, if I recall, only guitarists are keeping the E in this case. For sure the F on 6th string is sounding best, but it 's hard to maintain it up to the upper C, maybe up to the A with a strong shift, let's take a look tomorrow in the Zoom! I think the F on 5th string is a good compromise to keep the right harmony, by sacrificing the real bass voicing, instead of replacing it.
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Hi, it's a great idea to share insights into this piece. Have mostly memorised but would be good to refine it and hear thoughts on dynamics and particularly the tricky bars 31-34!!
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Hi, everyone, I've just about reached till the infamous barre (measure 15 on my score). Can you help me with some advice/opinion on that barre section? Right now, I'm thinking of playing that F an octave higher as suggested by Isaac Bustos in his TB lesson and by Martin in his recorded livestream. For me, I can't hold down the strings with my pinky only. In isolation, I can hold down the C, E and A using a combination of my ring finger and the pinky with the index in the 1st position, but I can't use this fingering when I actually transition from the preceding chord. I'm curious how many of you can pull-off this chord and how you do it.
Secondly, the bass notes- I know about the rest in the 2nd beat, but in the 3rd beat (that's where the bass line comes in, right?), how legato or staccato do you play the bass notes?
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary I can hold the low F through the 3rd 16th (the E at fret V on the B-string) and by then, the F has faded in volume enough, I let off the pressure on the index finger to make sure the A (at fret V on the E-string) is clear without buzzing. My ear seems to accept that as a compromise since I can't comfortably bar the entire three upper notes. I prefer that low F to the octave above, so live with the compromise.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary About your pinky, it could depends on your position. If you manage to play a bit inclined backwards (the Carlevaro approach), the help of your arm can come to the rescue here. As for the «pattern», chords and bass notes, I think important decisions should be done here regarding the way you want to articulate it before settling on any definitive fingerings, or the piece will likely sounds more of a patchwork than a fluid evolution of the «pattern», the motif or the idea.
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Blaise Laflamme David Thank you for your views. That chord I referred to, as of now I'll just play an octave higher as a compromise as my finger or technique is not developed enough to play as is originally notated.
Blaise's advice on reading the piece through for themes, forms, harmonies and melodies is great. As a complete novice, I'm not very good at analyzing music.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary The F bass note only has to last until the sixteenth note A has been played. Then E C E C can be held down with 4th finger pressure as that is the only fretting that's required for second beat. Medium tension strings will make life much easier here. For beat three, you need to get first, second and third fingers in place for A C F C. That needs to be done swiftly and smoothly for good legato. I'm always glad to get to Bars 17 and 18 as it give you a chance to relax before tackling the next section of the piece which has it's own fingering challenges .
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Neil Macmillan Looking more closely at Bar 15: Instead of using 4th finger for the E C E C in the second beat, try to replace 4 with 1 for the second C. Then you are well positioned for A C E C to close out the bar.
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Neil Macmillan Just to add to what Neil is saying, firstly if you follow the score all of the bass notes should be stopped after the first beat (there is a 'rest' on beat 2) and so I think if this is carefully respected then stopping the bass F in this bar slightly earlier for technical reasons won't sound too bad. I've tried around with various fingerings including playing the C on string 2 and the first E as an open string and even trying out playing the C,E,A as harmonics on the 5th,4th and 3rd strings but came to the conclusion that the 4th finger bar is best. After releasing the F I reinforce the bar with the 3rd finger. I actually play the C before dropping the rest of the finger into the bar but I find that then this doesn't leave the 4th finger cleanly on the 3rd string so when I put the 3rd finger down to reinforce the 4th I put the tip of it down on the 3rd string 5th fret so that when I replay the C it gives a clean sound. Hope this makes sense and is of some use but please feel free to to ignore me or correct me if you disagree
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