952 J. S. Bach Fugue in C major BWV 952 All of Bach

02:19 Interview with harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï LOCATION Chevreuse, Frankrijk YEAR unknown CITY Weimar As this fugue is not part of Bachs great keyboard cycles, it disappeared from sight, along with many other separate fugues. And yet this lively piece with tastefully harmonic twists and turns would not look out of place in the Wohltemperirte Clavier. While Bach did include other separate fugues in the series later on, this one got away. Since the late nineteenth century, BWV 952 has often been included in editions of little preludes and fugues. This led to the fugue becoming unjustly sidelined. It went from being notquiteWTC to minor exercise material for beginners. Context is everything. Fortunately, Bachs separate harpsichord and organ music also continued to be played. And in the hands of a harpsichordist like Pierre Hantaï, the quality of this fugue becomes suddenly clear again, and we realise why the music has survived. It is easy to imagine that Bach may indeed have considered i