Prelude in E minor, BWV 855

E312547

Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 is a short keyboard piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, notable for its expressive, introspective character and its place among the preludes of The Well-Tempered Clavier.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Baroque composition
keyboard composition
prelude
approximateCompositionDate early 18th century
catalogNumber BWV 855
composer Johann Sebastian Bach
compositionForm through-composed
countryOfOrigin Germany
difficultyLevel intermediate to advanced
genre prelude for solo keyboard
hasArrangement Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 self-linksurface differs
surface form: Prelude in C-sharp minor, BWV 855a (transposed version in Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook)

Romantic-era piano arrangements
violin and piano transcriptions
hasCharacteristic continuous broken-chord figuration
contrapuntal texture
expressive
introspective
lyrical
hasKeySignature one sharp
hasTitle Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 self-link
includedIn piano pedagogy repertoire
standard keyboard repertoire
intendedInstrument harpsichord
isStudiedIn keyboard literature courses
music history courses
music theory courses
keyOrderInBookI E minor prelude
languageOfTitle Latin alphabet
movementNumberInSet 10
notableFeature clear tonal architecture in E minor
expressive melodic line over steady accompaniment
use of suspensions and dissonances for expressivity
opusNumber BWV 846–869 (set)
pairedWith Fugue in E minor, BWV 855
partOf The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier
surface form: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
period Baroque
primaryTexture right-hand melodic line over left-hand broken chords
recordedBy numerous classical pianists
numerous harpsichordists
setWithin 24 preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys
structure single continuous movement
tempoIndication not specified by composer
tonality E minor
tuningContext well-tempered tuning
typicalDuration about 2 minutes
about 3 minutes
uses well-tempered tuning system exploration

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Well-Tempered Clavier contains Prelude in E minor, BWV 855
Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 hasArrangement Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Prelude in C-sharp minor, BWV 855a (transposed version in Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook)
Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 hasTitle Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 self-link
Fugue in E minor, BWV 855 pairedWith Prelude in E minor, BWV 855
Fugue in E minor, BWV 855 WTCNumbering Prelude in E minor, BWV 855
this entity surface form: Prelude and Fugue No. 10 in E minor, BWV 855
Fugue in E minor, BWV 855 hasPrelude Prelude in E minor, BWV 855