A Baroque and Romantic Period Piano Solos

Before I share about these two selections, please know that I learned these songs while in High School, yet this is the first time ever that I made a YouTube of these songs.

Johann Sebastian Bach created a 24 set of music from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 1, starting with an arpeggated selection in the key of C Major called "Prelude No 1 in C Major". The Baroque song is dedicated to one of his oldest son, Wihelm Friedemann, a song Bach wrote for his son who was taking piano lessons from him. I learned that Bach's inspiration for the song was based on a Renaissance melody called "I'homme arme" that was utilized in Masses. The arpeggiated solo has been delineated as a "dreamy fantasy", taking you on a journey. Bach implements various accidentals, a variety of diminished chords and only one dynamic level of mezzo piano. Yet each performer can take liberties on where to crescendo and decrescendo.

Found a really great quote about the Prelude on udiscovermusic.com, where a blog was also written about Prelude No 1 in C Major just this week:

"Philipp Spitta, the first important Bach scholar, described Bach’s ‘Prelude in C major’ as “a piece of indescribable fascination, in which a grand and beatific melody seems to float past like the song of an angel heard in the silence of night through the murmur of trees, groves, and waters.” Any such melody, though, is implied rather than stated. The piece is harmony alone, woven from a constantly repeated figuration of broken chords."

Blog link:

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/classical-features/bach-prelude-c-major/

I love how Spitta describes the song like an angel singing in the night, through nature. So much truth is written in these words of the grand beauty of the melody. Hope you enjoy this piece and hopefully will have a chance to teach it to my students.

"The Moonlight Sonata" Movement 1 or as Ludwig Van Beethoven previously called it: Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia Opus 27, No. 2. Quasi Una Fantasia means play like a fantasy. The idea of the change from the original title to "Moonlight" is suggested by Beethoven's friend Ludwig Rallstab, a poet, who refers to the selection as "moonlight rippling on the waves of Lake Lucerne". Four years after Beethoven's death, the title was changed to "Moonlight Sonata".

Beethoven created a three-movement selection that takes everyone on a fantasy journey. The first movement is in C# minor which implements triplets in the entire songs, double sharps, extra accidentals. He moves all over the keys, at times, even changing to two Bass Clefs, which the Bass Clef includes octave notes throughout the entire song. Dynamics of the piece are pianissimo and piano with various times of crescendos and decrescendos. Plus the main theme at the end of the selection is played in the Bass Clef.

For a long time I've tried Movements 2 (Allegretto) and Movement 3 (Presto), yet it's not "clicking" at the moment. Perhaps at a later time. Would love to learn all three movements and create a video. I have other projects I'm currently working on.

Hope you enjoy this video. My YouTubes are never perfect and I'm good with it.

What songs are you finally working on that people know? Would like to know. Thanks for your support. Blessings.