Beyond the Well Tempered Clavier: Prelude-and-Fugue Cycles

[PaulSC]

This is a thread for listing and discussing large-scale cycles of keyboard preludes and fugues, which it seems inevitably take Bach's WTC as a model. (Are there examples that precede WTC?) Smaller p/f sets (Mendelssohn, Schumann, etc.) interest me less here.

In the 20th Century, the best-known examples may be Shostakovitch's Op. 87 cycle and Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis (with interludes in place of most of the preludes). There's a late 90s cycle of 24 p/f by the Norwegian Trygve Madsen. I'm streaming it now and it's pleasant but I can't see coming back to it often. Vaguely jazz-influenced harmonies, but little of the rhythmic vitality that makes Kapustin (say) appealing. Then there's the INSANELY huge cycle by Niels-Viggo Bentzon -- he has recorded 13 volumes of 48 p/f each. (The whole epic cycle accessible to naxos.com subscribers. The tiny nibbles I've tried so far don't excite me, but I admit it's too soon to judge. I'd say these run stylistically along the same lines as Hindemith.)

The American Henry Martin wrote an eclectic set of 24 p/f (1990-2000) that are occasionally played and well worth hearing. (And given the stylistic range, you should hear more than one before passing judgement.) Venturing further into the realm of the obscure, there's a recent cycle by the Japanese Hiroshi Hara, but these are dull imitations of Bach with little appeal.

Bending the rules somewhat, there's a cycle of 36 fugues (sans preludes) by Beethoven's friend Antonin Rejcha (1770-1836). Many of these are composed on existing subjects and embody Rejcha's progressive ideas -- fugal answers on degrees other than the dominant, unconventional meters, revival of the church modes, and so on. There's also a charming set of Canons and Fugues by the obscure German composer August Alexander Klengel (1783-1852), a Clementi student. I find no recordings of the Klengel set, but the scores are at IMSLP (http://imslp.org/wiki/Canons_and_Fugues_for_Piano_(Klengel,_August_Alexander)).

If you know of other p/f cycles or have thoughts about the ones I've mentioned, please post here!

[PaulSC]

(I won't worry about the lack of responses because I assume everyone is busy listening to the NV Bentzon cycle.) 

[Luke]

Given that they were just being discussed on another thread, I think it's apposite to mention the large-scale op 82 set by Kapustin, which I personally think are his best works.

[Luke]

This is a thread for listing and discussing large-scale cycles of keyboard preludes and fugues, which it seems inevitably take Bach's WTC as a model. (Are there examples that precede WTC?)

As regards that last question, it seems there are. Wiki has a subheading labelled 'Precursors' which says:

Although the Well-Tempered Clavier was the first collection of fully-worked keyboard pieces in all 24 keys, similar ideas had occurred earlier. Before the advent of modern tonality in the late 17th century, numerous composers produced collections of pieces in all eight modes: Johann Pachelbel's magnificat fugues (composed 1695–1706), Georg Muffat's Apparatus Musico-organisticus of 1690 and Johann Speth's Ars magna of 1693 are but a few examples. Furthermore, some two hundred years before Bach's time, equal temperament was realized on plucked string instruments, such as the lute and the theorbo, resulting in several collections of pieces in all keys (although the music was not yet tonal in the modern sense of the word):

a cycle of 24 passamezzo–saltarello pairs (1567) by Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1520–c.1577)[6]
24 groups of dances, "clearly related to 12 major and 12 minor keys" (1584) by Vincenzo Galilei (c.1528–1591)[7]
30 preludes for 12-course lute or theorbo by John Wilson (1595–1674)[8][9]

One of the earliest keyboard composers to realize a collection of organ pieces in successive keys was Daniel Croner (1656–1740), who compiled one such cycle of preludes in 1682.[10][11] His contemporary Johann Heinrich Kittel (1652–1682) also composed a cycle of 12 organ preludes in successive keys.[12]
Ariadne musica neo-organoedum, by J.C.F. Fischer (died 1746) was published in 1702 and reissued 1715. It is a set of 20 prelude-fugue pairs in ten major and nine minor keys and the Phrygian mode, plus five chorale-based ricercars. Bach knew the collection and borrowed some of the themes from Fischer for Well-Tempered Clavier.[13] Other contemporary works include the treatise Exemplarische Organisten-Probe (1719) by Johann Mattheson (1681–1764), which included 48 figured bass exercises in all keys,[14] Partien auf das Clavier (1718) by Christoph Graupner (1683–1760) with eight suites in successive keys,[15] and Friedrich Suppig's Fantasia from Labyrinthus Musicus (1722), a long and formulaic sectional composition ranging through all 24 keys which was intended for an enharmonic keyboard with 31 notes per octave and pure major thirds.[14][16] Finally, a lost collection by Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), Fugen und Praeambuln über die gewöhnlichsten Tonos figuratos (announced 1704), may have included prelude-fugue pairs in all keys or modes.[17]
Bach's example inspired numerous composers of the 19th century, however, in his own time no similar collections were published, except one by Johann Christian Schickhardt (1681–1762), whose Op. 30 L'alphabet de la musique, contained 24 sonatas for recorder/flute/violin, in all keys.[18]

...although of these close matches only the lost-and-guessed-at set by Pachelbel would fit completely, by the sound of it

[PaulSC]

Thanks for the replies, Luke, and especially for digging into some of the early history of the idea. I know some of the Fischer fugues -- e.g. the F major -- because I've seen side-by-side comparisons of Fischer and Bach in textbooks, but I didn't realize they formed a relatively systematic cycle. The lost Pachelbel set is tantalizing.

Is there a recording of Kapustin's op. 82? I searched but didn't find.

[J]

Rodion Shchedrin wrote a cycle of 24 Preludes & Fugues.  It's available on a Melodiya CD, I believe.  Haven't heard them myself.

[fahl5]

You asked for a recording of Klengels 120 Canons and Fugues (24 Les Avantcoureurs +48 1Vol +48 2. Vol) here is my first attempt to offer a complete recording http://klassik.s-fahl.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=7&Itemid=51&lang=en. I hope you like it   
best fahl5

[Josquin des Prez]

Is there a recording of Kapustin's op. 82? I searched but didn't find.

I'm uploading them as we speak. Original CD is hopelessly out of print anyway. You can listen to some samples on youtube in the meantime.

[Josquin des Prez]

As promised, here's a link to the complete Op.82. Get it while its hot:

http://rapidshare.com/files/456363712/Op.082__24_Preludes_and_Fugues__1997_.rar

[PaulSC]

fahl5 and JdP, many thanks for making your original and/or rare recordings available!