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Play — Bach - WTC I Prelude and fugue no. 17 in A-flat major BWV 862 - Fortin | Netherlands Bach Society · Netherlands Bach Society (the player loads on click)
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Official level, taken from the exam syllabus.
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This Prelude and Fugue in A-flat major reads as meditative yet taut, alternating flowing arpeggiated figures with tight contrapuntal entries that require constant inner listening. Connaissance des formes (4.5/5): you will need to identify sections and thematic returns precisely to shape dynamics and overall pacing; Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus (4.4/5): the concrete gesture is balancing independent voices through careful fingering and hand redistribution so one or two lines can project without flattening the others. The piece belongs to The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, and functions as an intimate study of prelude and fugue within that cycle. I will not cite a reference interpretation here out of caution.