# Bach's Mind-blowing Technique--Hidden Canons in WTC, Bk 1, P1 in C Maj!



## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

I wanted to share with everyone an incredible piece of information regarding J.S. Bach's WTC Book I, Prelude I in C Major.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...e_Well-Tempered_Clavier,_Book_1_-_OpenWTC.pdf

At first glance, this appears to be a piece with no counterpoint whatsoever. However, upon very close inspection, there are actually hidden canons throughout the entire piece. This is a mind-blowing, little-known fact. Here, let me show you...

The first canon takes place in bars 1 through 6. It is a "mirror" canon, meaning when the lead voice goes up say a third, the following voice will go down a third, etc. Imitation is at one-bar interval. The lead voice is the C in the right hand/treble clef in bar 1. (It repeats in the second half of the measure). It goes to D in bar 2, stays on D in bar 3, down to C in bar 4, up a third to E in bar 5. The following voice (in "mirror") is the A in the right hand/treble clef in bar 2. It goes to G in bar 3, stays on G in bar 4, back up to A in bar 5, down a third to F# in bar 6. So you have: Lead-CDDCE and Follow-AGGAF#.

The second canon takes place in bars 8 through 15. It is also a mirror canon. Imitation is at a two-bar interval. The lead voice is the G in the right hand/treble clef in bar 8. It stays on G in bar 9, down to F# in bar 10, back up to G in bar 11, stays on G in bar 12, up to A in bar 13. The following voice is the D in the right hand/treble clef in bar 10. It stays on D in bar 11, up to E in bar 12, back down to D in bar 13, stays on D in bar 14, down to C in bar 15. So you have: Lead-GGF#GGA and Follow-DDEDDC.

The next canon takes place in bars 16 through 21. Also a mirror canon. Imitation is at a two-bar interval. The lead voice is the F in the left hand/bass clef in bar 16. It stays on F in bar 17, down a third to D in bar 18, up to E in bar 19. The following voice is the G in the right hand/treble clef in bar 18. It stays on G in bar 19, up a third to Bb in bar 20, down to A in bar 21. So you have: Lead-FFDE and Follow-GGBbA.

The next canon takes place in bars 22 through 27. Yet another mirror canon. Imitation is at a two-bar interval. The lead voice in the Eb in the right hand/treble clef in bar 22. It goes down to D in bar 23, stays on D in bar 24, up to E in bar 25. The following voice is the B in the right hand/treble clef in bar 24. It goes up to C in bar 25, stays on C in bar 26, down to B in bar 27. So you have: Lead-EbDDE and Follow-BCCB.

The last canon takes place in bars 29 through 32. This is a regular canon, very short. Imitation is at a one-bar interval. The lead voice is the C in the right hand/treble clef in bar 29. It stays on C in bar 30, down to B in bar 31. The following voice is the F in the right hand/treble clef in bar 30. It stays on F in bar 31, down to E in bar 32. So you have: Lead-CCB and Follow-FFE.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Very interesting, thanks for sharing this.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Can't say I agree with this approach. It seems your mixing the 2 voices in the left hand. The lead bottom voice sequence through bars 1-5 is CCBCC. My feeling when I play and hear it is Bach wanted to harmonize the E in the left hand of bars 1 and 4 with the high E of the broken chord on the right hand, and the D in the left hand of bars 2 and 3 with the F in the broken chords of the right hand.


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Yeah, I'm not saying the canons are the main melodies in the forefront carrying the primary interest. They are just embedded in the texture. But certainly not coincidental or accidental. The imitation is very strict and occurs throughout the piece.

This makes me appreciate the piece even more, and even appreciate Bach even more. He didn't have to do such a thing. But he really went above and beyond to add an extra layer of complexity and interest to the piece.

Any other thoughts?


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The Dorian mode is symmetrical: D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D (W-H-W-W-W-H-W). I wonder if this figures into it?


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Think its an unintentional byproduct of the harmonic sequences Bach uses


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

14 Examples of Bach canons found within the Goldberg Variations:






He's showing how he wrote them and it's easy to imagine how satisfying these examples were after he worked them out.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Maybe it's like Bwv 1080 said, and unintentional byproduct of the system.

An analogy can be made with those books which point out all the symmetries and correspondences in the Great Pyramid. It seems mystical until you realize that all structures back then (pre-standard measurement) were laid out using a stake and a long length of leather. In other words, they scribed a big circle and built it according to that. Since all circles share the same properties and proportions, it's no wonder that the Egyptologists found so many correspondences.


The Great Pyramid of Giza


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## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

I disagree. I think if it were unintentional you would have random overlap. But instead you have them lined up neatly in a row one right after the other. Also, it’s quite a coincidence to never have a single note out-of-place. Every note is exactly where it should be. If it were random, you might have two or three notes (four or six in two voices) at say a two-bar imitation, but then it would skip a beat/note here-and-there and be inexact. But look at what we have here. We have *ten* and *twelve* notes in the first two examples, and not a single one ever misses a beat/bar and is in the wrong place. That’s too much of a coincidence.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

If either one of the 2 voices in the left hand (without selectively picking and choosing between the 2, bar by bar) corresponded in mirror motion to the right hand bottom note consistently, then I would agree there is a case to be made that it is too much of a coincidence. But since this is not that case, I don't see a canon as a possible interpretation. If Bach intended it to be interpreted that way, he would have made the stems in the original line to be imitated all line consistently as a distinct voice (ie, the stem of the C in the first bar the same direction as the ones for the D in bars 2 and 3.) He has done this for the fugues even when the voices crossed (see pic below). In light of this, and the durations of the notes of the line to be imitated are also not consistent, then I don't think it's a valid interpretation.


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## Judas Priest Fan (Apr 27, 2018)

I don´t have the slightest idea what you guys are talking about


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Torkelburger said:


> I disagree. I think if it were unintentional you would have random overlap. But instead you have them lined up neatly in a row one right after the other. Also, it's quite a coincidence to never have a single note out-of-place. Every note is exactly where it should be. If it were random, you might have two or three notes (four or six in two voices) at say a two-bar imitation, but then it would skip a beat/note here-and-there and be inexact. But look at what we have here. We have *ten* and *twelve* notes in the first two examples, and not a single one ever misses a beat/bar and is in the wrong place. That's too much of a coincidence.


First, they aren't independent voices, it's an arpeggiated chord. Second, it's an entirely plausible coincidence. You find this 'mirror cannon' in bars 1-6 between the top and bottom notes on the RH but not any other of the potential nine pairs of 'voices' (and that is just at a one bar lead, your second 'canon' is arbitrarily at a two bar interval).


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