Fantasy C Minor Kv 475

Mozart's Fantasy and Sonata in C minor is published as part of ABRSM's 'Signature' Series - a series of authoritative performing editions of standard keyboard works, prepared from original sources by leading scholars. Includes informative introductions and performance notes. / Piano

If Bach Was A Cellist-The purpose of the series if Bach was a cellist is to live the fantasy that everything Bach wrote he wrote for the cello.The concerto in D minor (BWV 1043) for two violins string orchestra and continuo by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is one of his most loved works. Indeed the slow movement may be one of the most popular and loved pieces in the instrumental literature. Traditionally it is believed to have been written in Köthen where he held the position of 'fürstlischer Kapellmeister' from 1717-1723 a town that saw the birth of the Brandenburg concertos and the solo works for violin and cello. The Dorian church mode (the absent Bflat in the key of Dminor) would also speak for the younger Bach. Recent research however has shown that the orchestral parts carefully written out by Bach himself and found among the papers of his son Carl Philip Emanuel date from around 1730. The sophistication of the composition also speaks for a later date than Köthen. The original score has been lost.Always in need of concert material for his 'Collegium Musicus' in Leipzig Bach made a version of the present concerto for two harpsichords (BWV 1062). The original key was transposed to C minor so that the top note would not exceed a D but remain within the range of a standard harpsichord. Another C minor concerto (BWV 1060) for two harpsi-chords often heard in an arrangement from the 1920's for violin and oboe by Max Schneider and Max Seiffert speaks for two concertos in D minor for two violins by Bach.When arranging an orchestral score for the pianoforte one has to remember that a double-bass sounds an octave lower than notated. This is a welcomed fact when dealing with two instruments that play the original solo parts an octave down. At the same time for a transcription of this kind the ambition must be to avoid the cello soloists playing in octaves with the violin tutti parts - which is what would happen were they to share the same material. This ambition made a piano reduction

These two extraordinary works of late Mozart, KV 594 and KV 608, were both composed to fulfill a commission for a memorial exhibit in Vienna, to be played in a 'mechanical clock organ.? The term 'fantasy? or 'fantasia? came to be affixed to these works later, and is more descriptive and less cumbersome than the term Mozart listed in his own catalogue, 'Ein Stüke für ein Orgelwerk in ein Uhr.? They are also variously titled 'Adagio und Allegro in f für ein Orgelwerk? and 'Allegro und Andante (Fantasie in f) für eine Orgelwaltze.?The first of these, composed between the monumental String Quintet in D and the Piano Concerto in Bb KV 595, is an A-B-A form, comprised of an f minor Adagio opening and closing, with a contrapuntal Allegro at its heart. KV 608 is more complicated, opening with an f minor section reminiscent of a French Overture, followed by a fugue in f minor, then an Andante aria, followed by a return to the opening and then a more complex version of the fugue.Despite the frustration that Mozart expressed (in a letter to Constanze) with the sound world of these mechanical devices, KV 594 and 608 are remarkable works which stand at an intersection, incorporating what he learned about counterpoint studying at the foot of Bach, while looking ahead to the emotional and harmonic poignancy of Schubert. / Quintette A Vent

Done with great taste, in a perfectly simple and straightforward manner, Liszt's piano transcriptions of Bach's organ music became the classic models for all future works in this genre. Includes 6 Organ Preludes and Fugues (BWV 543-548) and the world-famous Fantasia and Fugue in G minor (BWV 542).

Compositeur : Bach, Johann Sebastian Instrumentation : Piano solo Editeur Musicologique : Dadelsen, Georg von Couverture Reliée Contenu : Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue d minor BWV 903 and 903a

Par DE HAAN JACOB. This musical fantasy depicts the history of the Dutch fortified town of Elburg. The work begins with an atmospheric medieval picture of the Convent of St Agnes, the nunnery that was built in the first half of the 15th century. We hear the sound of the convent bells together with an upward motif, which will reappear later in the work. Next, the rest of Elburg is featured, including the fortress - from which the bells of the Sint-Nicolaaskerk (Saint Nicholas Church) are ringing. Then, cheerful sounds can be heard at the Vischpoort (Fish Gate), where a dancing group is performing a 16th century French folk dance (a branle des chevaux). We also hear old wagons rumbling over the town’scobble stones. Trade made this Hanseatic town a lively place. The repetitive upward motif first heard in the introduction now develops into a more distinct feature, reflecting the mercantile spirit of the town residents. Then follows the slow middle movement, in which the clock has been turned back to the time when Elburg was still lying on the Zuiderzee (which was a bay of the North Sea), and was struggling with floods. After the second St. Marcellus Flood (1362) and the water flood of 1367 it was decided that the town would be relocated. We now hear the theme of branle des chevaux in a minor key, followed by a death bell sounding in remembrance of the drowned citizens of the former town. Back in our own time, a slow, expressive theme in Baroque style mirrors Elburg’s tranquil places, such as the Feithenhof (Feithen Court) and the Weduwenhofje (Widow Court). Then the bustle returns with motifs from the introduction, followed by an attractive theme in which present-day Elburg is portrayed with its many tourists. Now, suddenly, there is an echo from the past, depicting the dramatic floods and wars that once plagued the town. This leads to the grand closing theme: branle des chevaux is heard for a final time from the perspective of the historic town centre. / Niveau : 4 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Fanfare