DESCRIPTION:
By Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750), ed. by Himie Voxman (1912 - 2011)

John Charney, Clarinet 1
Joe Clark, Clarinet 2

This "Little Prelude" comes from a set of six little preludes written by Bach for harpsichord, the precursor to the modern piano. This is the third of the six, BWV 935. BWV stands for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, or "Bach Works Catalogue". Like Mozart's works, Bach's were catalogued -- in this case, by Felix Mendelssohn in 1829. Unlike Mozart's, they are not chronological, since many composition dates are extremely uncertain. Rather, they are grouped thematically, and his works for harpsichord run from BWV 772 -- 994. This particular prelude sounds like one of his more famous two-part inventions. A single melodic line gets tossed back and forth between the two parts, maintaining interest throughout the piece.

Performed at the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, MA on August 10, 2013.