# Your top picks from Bach's WTK



## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Just thinking about Bach's 2 book masterpiece. As much as I love them, I'm still not familiar with the set enough to have many specific preludes and fugues to stand out as "favorites". I'm still at a point where, excluding maybe a small handful of sets, I can't easily distinguish the works apart right away.

More out of curiosity and fun, I'd like to hear which ones from the sets are your favorites?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Overall, I don't like the idea of breaking Bach's masterpieces into bite-sized morsels, but I'll do it anyways:

Current favorites:

Bk. 1:
Fugue no. 4 in C sharp minor
Prelude no. 7 in E flat major
Prelude no. 8 in E flat minor
Prelude no. 9 in E major
Prelude and Fugue no. 11 in F major
Prelude and Fugue no. 12 in F minor
Fugue no. 13 in F sharp major
Fugue no. 14 in F sharp minor
Fugue no. 16 in G minor
Prelude and Fugue no. 18 in G sharp minor
Fugue no. 19 in A major
Fugue no. 22 in B flat minor
Prelude and Fugue no. 23 in B major
Prelude and Fugue no. 24 in B minor

Bk.2:
Prelude and Fugue no. 3 in C sharp major
Prelude and Fugue no. 4 in C sharp minor
Fugue no. 5 in D major
Fugue no. 7 in E flat major
Fugue no. 8 in D sharp minor
Prelude and Fugue no. 9 in E major
Prelude no. 10 in E minor
Fugue no. 13 in F sharp major
Fugue no. 14 in F sharp minor
Fugue no. 16 in G minor
Fugue no. 17 in A flat major
Fugue no. 18 in G sharp minor
Prelude no. 20 in A minor
Prelude and Fugue no. 23 in B major

My all-time favorite piece is the Prelude in E major from Bk. 2.

I do want to stress that I feel the only way to get the full genius of Bach is to listen to both books in one sitting; it's a tremendous experience.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Well.....the C major prelude of Book 1 is easily the simplest and the easiest to play, yet it is also the most profound and gripping. Sorry if that seems like the most generic response, and yeah, it sounds cliche due to being overplayed, but even in spite of that its greatness still shines through.



Bulldog said:


> My all-time favorite piece is the Prelude in E major from Bk. 2.


That one stands out to me.


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## Queen of the Nerds (Dec 22, 2014)

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Well.....the C major prelude of Book 1 is easily the simplest and the easiest to play, yet it is also the most profound and gripping. Sorry if that seems like the most generic response, and yeah, it sounds cliche due to being overplayed, but even in spite of that its greatness still shines through.


I love that one... Sometimes I sit at the piano, press that pedal that blends all the notes, and just play the melody over and over. It's so beautiful, and reminds me of water, flowing and changing and bringing life and glimmering under the sun.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Bulldog said:


> Overall, I don't like the idea of breaking Bach's masterpieces into bite-sized morsels, but I'll do it anyways:
> 
> Current favorites:
> 
> ...


That E major prelude (and fugue) is an extraordinary moment in your favourite performance of WTC 2. It's like Wilson's been the musical equivalent of sleeping with a porcupine up to that piece. And then out of the blue he finds it within himself to communicate some major tenderness.

Then it's back to the porcupine.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Re: E major Book II, the fugue is a pretty compelling piece too....if I find a Bach piece I really like I usually make some efforts toward learning it but it's a 5 voice fugue....so, yeah.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

My single favorite is the F sharp major fugue of the second book.


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## PierreN (Aug 4, 2013)

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> Re: E major Book II, the fugue is a pretty compelling piece too....if I find a Bach piece I really like I usually make some efforts toward learning it but it's a 5 voice fugue....so, yeah.


It's 4-voice actually. There only are two 5-voice fugues in the WTC, and they're both in Book-1: #4 in C-sharp minor, and #22 in B-flat minor.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I really like all the pieces, but I'll attempt to narrow it down somewhat:

Book I

C major - prelude
C minor - prelude and fugue
C# major - prelude and fugue
C# minor - prelude and fugue
D minor - prelude and fugue
E flat minor - prelude and fugue
E major - prelude
E minor - prelude
F minor - prelude and fugue
F# minor - fugue
G minor - prelude
A flat major - prelude
A major - prelude and fugue
B flat major - prelude
B minor - prelude and fugue

Book II

C# major - prelude and fugue
C# minor - Prelude and fugue
D major - prelude
D minor - prelude and fugue
D# minor - fugue
E major - prelude
F minor - prelude
F# major - prelude
F# minor - prelude and fugue
G# minor - prelude and fugue
A flat major - fugue
B flat minor - prelude and fugue
B major - fugue

A personal favorite of late has been the G# minor prelude and fugue from Book II - *especially the fugue*. The two pieces compliment each other exceptionally well however, so I'll include the prelude.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I can see how some might stand out, if not played by GG.


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## Hmmbug (Jun 16, 2014)

The fugues of WTC 1 in f minor and b minor might be the most incredible ones. In terms of preludes, I have a soft spot for the WTC 1 f sharp major. This is a gross simplification, as all 96 pieces are incredible (prelude and fugue considered separately) and I don't even have book 2 in the mix here, but that's what it is today.


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