Bach’s Contribution and Characteristics in Keyboard Music

Bach’s Contribution and Characteristics in Keyboard Music

1. Bach achieved great accomplishments in keyboard music. He inherited the German vocal and instrumental traditions since the 16th century, absorbed advanced techniques from Italian and French music, and brought counterpoint music to unprecedented heights. He systematized and solidified the entire structure of keyboard music. Bach’s keyboard works are filled with rationality, rich in logic, and possess a mathematically intricate structure, with complexity that demonstrates remarkable precision.
2. Bach’s immense contribution to keyboard music is particularly remarkable given the limitations of the instruments at the time. During Bach’s peak creative period, modern pianos did not exist. Only the harpsichord, an ancient keyboard instrument, was available. The harpsichord, originating in late 15th-century Italy, spread across Europe. Unlike modern pianos, which use hammers to strike strings, the harpsichord plucks strings using quills, creating a vastly different sound. The tone is more primitive, with no dynamic range or sustain, making it more challenging to compose. Despite these limitations, Bach created many masterpieces under these conditions, which is a remarkable achievement.
3. Bach’s keyboard music is extremely rich in quantity, and its most notable feature is the use of fugue as the main genre. Fugue, a contrapuntal musical form popular during the Baroque period, follows a strict compositional structure. It typically starts with a theme, which is then played by different voices in different keys. The voices are similar but distinct, coming together at key points to form beautiful harmonies.
4. The fugue technique, originating in 16th-century religious music, underwent long development, reaching its peak during Bach’s time in the 18th century. Fugue became a hallmark of Bach’s compositional style, and he composed fugues with up to seven voices, extremely intricate and complex, resembling a Swiss watch, where the voices perfectly align at certain moments. This results in harmony and dramatic tension.
5. Bach’s compositions, like those of a mathematician, emphasize rationality and precision. His most representative work is the Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of two books, each containing 24 pieces—one for each major and minor key. Each piece consists of a prelude and a fugue. The Well-Tempered Clavier is often regarded as Bach’s masterwork in showcasing his fugue techniques and is considered the “Old Testament” of music literature.
6. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier is vast and intricate, and no composer after him has ever achieved such a feat, as Bach explored every key and scale. The piano has 12 notes, and by shifting between major and minor scales, it forms 24 keys. The same piece, played in major, sounds bright and passionate, while in minor, it feels dark and melancholic. Bach performed the entire 24-key cycle, demonstrating an extraordinary and complex compositional achievement.
7. The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) is one of Bach’s greatest late keyboard works, being the largest and most grandiose variation set in the history of music. The entire piece consists of 32 variations, and performance time can vary between 40 to 80 minutes. The reason for such variation in performance time is that Bach’s music allows great freedom, with no strict tempo specifications. Musicians are free to interpret the piece as they wish—either slow or fast, with each variation taking on different stylistic elements, providing room for virtuosity and personal expression.
8. The Goldberg Variations is often seen as a “touchstone” for musicians. Anyone brave enough to perform and record this piece must be a mature, highly respected artist. The work was composed for a count suffering from insomnia, yet only the theme of the variations is “hypnotic.” The first variation already introduces many changes in color. Composers are expected to use their skills to embellish the theme, exercising their imagination to create variations. As such, it is one of the most difficult pieces to perform.