''Clavier-Übung II'' is a collection of

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

compositions by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. It was published in 1735. Written for performance on a two- manual harpsichord, it contrasts the Italian style of that time with the French style. While the Italian style is represented by the '' Italian Concerto'', BWV 971, the French style is represented by the suite '' Overture in the French style'', BWV 831.

History

The ''French Overture'' had previously been written down in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

; for the publication of 1735 Bach transposed it to

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

and made slight changes to the musical text, for example in the rhythms of the first movement. The reason for the transposition is not known: one speculation is that the aim was to increase the contrast between the two works. F major is a "flat" key and B minor is a "sharp" key, and the keynotes are related by a

tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a interval (music), musical interval spanning three adjacent Major second, whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be ...

, which is the most distant

modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...

. Another possible motivation is that out of the eight German note names A, B ( B), C, D, E, F, G, H ( B), six had already been used as keynotes in the Partitas, thus only F and H remained. The keys of the Partitas (B-flat major, C minor, A minor, D major, G major, E minor) may seem like an irregular sequence, but in fact they form a sequence of intervals going up and then down by increasing amounts: a second up (B-flat to C), a third down (C to A), a fourth up (A to D), a fifth down (D to G), and finally a sixth up (G to E). The sequence continues into '' Clavier-Übung II'' with the Italian Concerto, a seventh down (E to F), and the French Ouverture, an augmented fourth up (F to B-natural). Thus the sequence of customary tonalities for 18th-century keyboard compositions is complete, extending from the first letter of his name (Bach's "home" key, B, in German is B) to the last letter of his name (B in German is H).

''Italian Concerto'', BWV 971

''French Overture'', BWV 831

Reception

References

{{classical-composition-stub Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach 1735 compositions Compositions for harpsichord