Bach Prelude and Fugue No.4 Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1 with Harmonic Pedal

[@DavidBadilloMusic]

It's amazing how Bach's music is so deep... and to think that he wrote this more than 250 years ago... simply incredible!

[@petrusmalk]

Maybe the most brilliant composer ever.

[@dehash666]

It just unbelievable. I am sure people will play it 300 and 400 years later. Pure genius.

[@adriatorras8077]

not maybe, sure.

[@diogofernandes9017]

The best compositor of the best style of music - the best compositor ever

[@diogofernandes9017]

**composer**

[@SlateFx]

Those strettos at the end, my god it is perfection, tells such an emotional story, literally breathtaking.

[@billylovett8878]

slatefx Heart wrenching as well

[@joseph-fernando-piano]

I'm playing this piece right now, and if I can get it fully memorized in the next week, I will have the chance to perform it in a church that was built in the Middle Ages! Wish me luck!

[@nicolaspiano8117]

How was it?

[@joseph-fernando-piano]

@@nicolaspiano8117 I managed to learn it in time and ended up performing it, but unfortunately the recitals that were scheduled at the church were moved to an indoor hall due to the heat wave that was happening in Italy at the time... thanks for asking!

[@grahambarton1942]

It’s a beautiful piece anyway so we’ll worth learning! I hope u get to perform it some other time. Cheers

[@SoHighSchool.13_tay]

@@joseph-fernando-piano Congrats 🎉❤

[@jackschleich9475]

there is more gained by just becoming familiar with book 1 and learning your pet pieces, your favorites 5 or 6 of 24. Mainly so you can learn the style of music behind all of it and understand how 4 relates to 7 or 8. Especially how preludes relate to fugues and how some pieces have a different personality or feeling vs others.

[@poplife123]

What amazes me is the layers of harmonic tonality in the figure.....it's truly breathtaking and vast in scope ....again Bach never fails to impress.....

[@PKLevel99]

OH my! 5 voices

[@ajiguess3700]

Yeah Mozart, get in with the times!

[@AndiAngvil]

Mozzy worked on 5 themes and 5-voice counterpoint in "Jupiter"

[@cooperlacey9990]

What can I say? Bach was the best

[@authenticmusic4815]

That's right, Wolfie... Far too much for your drunk ass head to comprehend

[@madeleineurstein669]

C'est chaque fois un moment unique de perfection, d'équilibre, de sérénité retrouvée quand je travaille cette oeuvre. Merci pour la clarté de votre interprétation

[@dehash666]

I just can't get enough, listening it every day few times.

[@aarondrayer548]

Haha I've been listening Beethoven 31 sonata everyday and I just can't get enough of it either

[@idontwantmynamealloverthei9799]

Daniel Mason's book 'The Piano Tuner' brought me here...thoroughly recommend to people who love piano!

[@dehash666]

Bach died more than 250 years ago and ppl still learning, playing and listening to his music.

[@gabrielmuniz3266]

You could not say that about Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

[@demianwaldmann]

@@gabrielmuniz3266 Yeah cause it's pop music, you can say the same about some folk songs from around the time when Bach lived

[@billylovett8878]

THE BEST interpretation I’ve heard so far!

[@Npvsp]

Listen to Pollini’s performance. It’s the BEST. Perfection. I mean the whole WTC performance, not just this

[@vir-music]

There is no best, just it is best exactly for you 🎉

[@horatiohornblower868]

You made me cry, Paul. This music speaks directly to the heart.

[@MiScusi69]

3:54 Fugue

[@TheAmoke]

Great music! I had to stop my work to focus on it.

[@Dieguims]

That fugue performance was terrific!

[@nicolascaste7928]

Both prelude and fugue are extremely beautiful!!! OMG... Great rendition Paul!

[@tackontitan]

That fugue is a beast to play. It's so dense and complicated. I remember it took almost 20 minutes to just to read through it.

[@andrewfel23]

Si los fantasmas pudieran hablar. Probablemente lo harían en la tonalidad de do sostenido menor. Un comentario muy poético sobre la oscuridad de la tonalidad que en mi opinión describe a la perfección obras como esta y muchas más escritas en la tonalidad, es curioso como la tonalidad da esa sensación tan espectral. Lamento no ser capaz de escribir en inglés.

[@-cloudsaboveuscrying-6805]

"If ghosts could speak, they would probably do it in C# minor. A very poetic comment about the darkness of the key, that in my opinion, perfectly describes pieces like this and others written in this key, it's curious how the key gives that spectral sensation." Ahi lo traduje amigo (quizas no esta perfecto pero es exactamente lo que dijiste!) Saludos!

[@CheroquiRock1]

charlatán

[@TyronTention]

You have an excellent control over Bach's music. Your interpretations are very refreshing, and the harmonic pedal is a very nice touch to really let this music resonate. My teacher and I always agreed that Baroque music like Bach's tends to be very romantic in sound, as odd as that may sound, but I think you really express that with your playing.

[@adonisadmirer2752]

Why am I just finding out about this? Congratulations to Mr. Barton for this beautiful interpretation!

[@jackschleich9475]

another of my favorites I used to play almost everyday

[@preppychrisbou]

My favorite Prelude and fugue.

[@MarziaGaggioliOfficial]

Super!!!!! Amazing performance dear Paul!!!!!

[@javawaj4359]

a piece of music Thank you so much. It's so good to hear each song. 음악 한 곡 정말 감사합니다. 모든 노래를 들을 수 있어서 너무 좋아요.

[@zminusone]

Really nice touch. You bring all the subjects out really nicely!

[@HansPeter-hx5dx]

Yeah i think the slower tempo on both pieces is the right take! most people are way to fast in the fugue, so its not tragic enough.. Fantastic playing!

[@Chrismacleod777]

What beautiful music - beautiful played! Thank you!

[@othongutierrez9566]

wow! impresionante, tienes mucho talento. Saludos y sigue adelante

[@luisfeliperey]

Maravillosa interpretación señor Barton

[@amg_-5765]

I admire your way of playing piano specially Bach

[@7521jacqueline]

I heard this played on a harpsichord and it does emit a different quality of sound as opposed to the piano Forte. Still a lovely composition.

[@Gusakov]

Замечательно... Браво, Пол !

[@TheChicanoTenor]

I don’t often grant myself the chance to really study the fugues but this one in particular is really interesting.

[@IanGoncalves]

Bravo, great interpretation!

[@misskatya099]

I must say that you've done an excellent job at this prelude&fugue! It's quite complicated but still you manage to lead all of the voices and show them with beautiful cresendos and diminuendos!! I Think that you also play with a pedal, but it's not overpowering and simply used to give the piece a bit more grace. :)

[@jackschleich9475]

wow... wow, i just realized that all this is a complex variation of a handful of themes,not obvious,but he took some themes and thought of every angle.

[@paulbeauregard8297]

Very well played!

[@grahambarton1942]

Thanks for putting this on. I was struggling with bar 11 and this is really helpful. C sharp minor is a beautiful key, but seems harder than most.

[@jackschleich9475]

some pieces are fingers flying and 4 different parts, while others are very slow and like a meditation like this video.

[@luccassennadacosta1476]

Perfect

[@RichWoodwardMusic]

good stuff - not an easy fugue to control

[@PaulBartonPiano]

Yes, you are right, not at all easy, at least, not easy for me. Passing the notes one to the next in legato without falling back on the sustain pedal for help is very difficult, and although it's relatively slow I find it much harder to play than the previous fugue.

[@breezecliffy6688]

Try Bach prelude and fugue in f minor book 2. Beautiful one to start

[@PJohnLivingston]

nice one .....Paul...!!!

[@jackschleich9475]

this fugue proves that fast and complicated is not always best. Its actually harder to play this style the intended way unless you really study hard.

[@inner_melodies]

Interesting how a similar pattern is expressed as an arpeggio in the treble but as grace notes in the bass. Anyone know why?

[@belialah]

May I ask what software are u using to editing the videos?

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

Beautifully played. How do you choose the tempi when you interpret. Some pieces are played too fast for my ears to hear. This was perfect.

[@최건명-b2n]

Bravo!

[@ghostgustav2486]

F# at 6:59 imho must be the loudest, strings breaking, sound

[@pedrojaguilar]

Hi Paul, I wish hear moment musicaux 3, 4 or 5, Rachaminov played by you (I talk english very bad but I think you could understand me) Thanks!

[@Solfonny]

This fugue is a spiritual struggle.

[@dimitriskritas3423]

does this fugue have many themes or does the theme come later?.i haven't played but listening to you I think it has 2 different themes.i don't know though.

[@verkem569]

Dimitri Kritas there are actually 3 subjects! One of the best fugues in my opinion.

[@PaulBartonPiano]

The best website (in my view) with detailed information for those interested in learning about Bach's Preludes and Fugues in depth is this one: www-personal.umich.edu/~siglind/wtc-i-04.htm

[@sophie-grace9143]

Bach. Wow.

[@iLoveChopin]

I need help with the fugue. 😭

[@miguelblambila7056]

Everyone if want to play this will need help... so much help

[@floofyliu8819]

Miguel Blambila Steven universe lmaoo

[@miguelblambila7056]

@@floofyliu8819 haha, of course, steven universe is life

[@tomaszparuzel8244]

Could you play Beethoven's Symphony No.5, 1st movement please?

[@clivegoodman16]

Beethoven's 5th is supposed to be performed by an orchestra. This piece is supposed to be performed by a keyboard instrument.

[@brent3522]

@@clivegoodman16 Ever heard of Liszt's transcriptions of all Beethoven Symphonies?

[@clivegoodman16]

@@brent3522 .No.

[@brent3522]

@@clivegoodman16 go check it out. Great stuff.

[@composer318]

3:41

[@kaktusseb1497]

nice

[@lucho2868]

I have the Czerny edition of the Book 1 and those arpeggio symbols (for ex.: beat 2 measure 1 or beat 2 measure 3) are missing from all over the prelude (and thus I played them as chords). What edition are you playing? What year is it from? Which version would more symmilar to Bach's idea? :(

[@superbowyiming]

Let's be honest, literally any other version is better than Czerny's...

[@simpyoungyuk3885]

@@superbowyiming At least it's cheaper than most of the other versions.

[@neo9560]

@@simpyoungyuk3885 huh ? all the versions are free lmao

[@adejuwonadebusuyi949]

Can you please make videos on tutorials for moderate difficulty in have an electric keyboard is that okay?

[@dehash666]

2020 comment

[@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy]

That fugue.

[@ernst_aames2005]

why is your score at certain parts wildly different to that of the hal leonard collection of the preludes and fugues?

[@zacqueen]

Hal Leonard's scores are adapted and edited and are not the original Urtext versions of the scores.

[@AtharvGoel]

What key is this in?

[@PaulBartonPiano]

C# minor. Bach's Preludes and Fugues start in C major and work their way through all the major and minor keys. No.5 therefor, as you would expect, is in D major, No.6 in D minor, and so on.

[@mymatemartin]

Paul Barton Hi Paul. Can you explain the order of scales in which D major is number 5 and D minor is number 6?

[@voxeI_wave]

Martin Craig It goes chromatically through each of the keys, alternating between the next major key and then its parallel minor key. The order in question goes C c C# c# D d Eb eb and so on.

[@mymatemartin]

Jaydon Stanislowski Thanks Jaydon. I can see it now after your explanation. Much appreciated

[@henriquealejandro7247]

This fugue is insanely difficult to play

[@siavasharya7111]

Sometimes the notes are released too early and sometimes too late, in the first section of the fugue. It's definitely not something I can hear when listening but I can see on your hands. But I can hear and feel the difference if I do such things when I play myself.

[@davidstokes8147]

Well, anyway, I play it noticeably faster. I find this hard to listen to as it sounds more like practising.

[@petrusmalk]

David Stokes The purpose of the video is to show the effect of the harmonic pedal. If he played it fast we would problably hear not much difference from the use of the sustain pedal.

[@davidstokes8147]

Petrosmalk Maybe. Perhaps No 8 Eb minor would make a better example. I've found quite a few of Paul's videos of value to me but I suspect that very few of us will ever have the chance to use this harmonic pedal, so in fact I prefer the ones where it is not in use.

[@jaysherman4149]

So much Bach is played too fast. This could still sound good faster but works just fine at this speed.

[@balthazarnaylor5874]

1.5 x speed is normal speed for this piece

[@Sklandarkal]

for me a bit too slow