15 Three-Part Inventions

SKU: BT.MUSACF017434

French.

Bach 's Inventions is a collection of 15 Two-Part and 15 Three-Part pieces. Originally composed as pedagogical exercises for his students, their contrapuntal composition still works brilliantly as an introduction and practice in counterpoint. Bach  wrote the Inventions  as a way for his students to practise playing in two parts, then, after some progress, in three parts; with an end goal of becoming more accomplished at composition. The two groups of pieces are arranged in order of ascending key, with each covering eight major and seven minor keys.

SKU: PR.490011640

UPC: 680160602599. 8.5 x 11 inches.

Inspired by the two- and three-part inventions of Bach, Baksa's 36 Canonic Inventions were composed in the early 1980s but are now available complete in two volumes. Each two voice invention is followed by a three voice invention in the same key so that the result is somewhat like the Master of Master's Preludes and Fugues. Many of these pieces were premiered by Harpsichordist Elaine Comparone but they are equally suitable for performance on piano or pianoforte. --American composer Lee Hoiby once asked me where I learned to write counterpoint. I told him that I learned by writing my Canonic Inventions.-- (Robert Baksa).

SKU: M7.AHW-197

After retiring from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Carmelo Barranco dedicated himself to transcribing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach for horn. In this edition, he has compiled Bach's 15 Inventions into trios for horn. This music will be perfect for graduation recitals or other performances, or just as a way to challenge yourself and friends.

SKU: AP.1-ADV7730

ISBN 9783892217695. UPC: 805095077308. English.

Includes Inventions No. 1-15.

SKU: PR.110418390

ISBN 9781491134603. UPC: 680160685158.

Eric Ewazen’s THREE INVENTIONS were inspired by Bach’s Two-part Inventions, yet they sound thoroughly like Ewazen. Composed for harpsichord (with a piano adaptation following later), Ewazen’s inventions maintain a pure “one note per hand” texture until their final chord, with strong-but-free imitative counterpoint between the two voices. While Ewazen may be best known for his wind music, he is a pianist himself, and composers’ works for their own instrument are a direct insight into how they write for their own performances. The piano adaptation of THREE INVENTIONS is also available as a separate publication.
THREE INVENTIONS was written for my dear friend Maria Rojas, who premiered the work on a faculty recital at Juilliard. Maria is both a pianist and a harpsichordist, and I first met her when she gave a demonstration of the harpsichord for the students in my theory classes.I’ve always been captivated by Bach’s series of Two-Part and Three-Part Inventions. With the Two-Part Inventions, I’m amazed how Bach could create such wonderful intricacy and counterpoint with only two voices. I consequently modeled my inventions after the counterpoint of Bach, involving the traditional contrapuntal devices he used: imitation, development, harmonic and modal shifts, fragmentation, and sequence, essentially creating a dialog between two completely equal voices conversing with each other!Bach wrote 15 Two-Part Inventions (as well as 15 Three-Part Inventions, not to mention the 48 preludes and fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier!), and that’s just the start of his voluminous repertoire for the keyboard! I was happy just to write three!!!Each of my inventions has a distinctive mood. The first is in a relaxed, yet cheerful C Major tonality (as a nod to Bach’s Invention No. 1 in C Major); the second is heartfelt and lyrical; and the third invention (involving a Gigue rhythm in the compound meter of 12/8) is energetic, and full of life and spontaneity. The third is primarily in a minor tonality, resulting in a feeling of drama, bringing the THREE INVENTIONS to an exciting finale.