Taught by renowned pianist
Magdalena Stern-Baczewska
You've arrived at Bach's First Invention, one of the landmark pieces in a pianist's development. According to Bach's own hand-written preface to the Two and Three-Part Inventions, these pieces were meant for music lovers interested in improving their keyboard technique and compositional understanding. Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772, is the first of fifteen written in two-parts. Bach encourages you to study them carefully and develop a facile, cantabile playing style, at which point you're ready to graduate to the Three-Part Inventions, or "Sinfonias."<br><br>It is in this spirit that Magdalenz Stern-Baczewska approaches this lesson, guiding you through the First Invention, introducing you to the main concepts of advanced, two-part counterpoint – including motives, imitation, inversion, augmentation, modulation, and sequence – while demonstrating how to approach the piece technically so as to realize two, independent singing "voices." The lesson also serves to orient you to the principles of Baroque performance practice, and teach you how to apply them on the modern piano, with a focus on articulation, phrasing, and ornamentation.
Invention in C major, BWV 772
You've arrived at Bach's First Invention, one of the landmark pieces in a pianist's development. According to Bach's own hand-written preface to the Two and Three-Part Inventions, these pieces were meant for music lovers interested in improving their keyboard technique and compositional understanding. Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772, is the first of fifteen written in two-parts. Bach encourages you to study them carefully and develop a facile, cantabile playing style, at which point you're ready to graduate to the Three-Part Inventions, or "Sinfonias."
It is in this spirit that Magdalenz Stern-Baczewska approaches this lesson, guiding you through the First Invention, introducing you to the main concepts of advanced, two-part counterpoint – including motives, imitation, inversion, augmentation, modulation, and sequence – while demonstrating how to approach the piece technically so as to realize two, independent singing "voices." The lesson also serves to orient you to the principles of Baroque performance practice, and teach you how to apply them on the modern piano, with a focus on articulation, phrasing, and ornamentation.
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Unlock Course →"Columbia University professor by day, musical sorceress by night,” Magdalena Stern-Baczewska leads a career of dizzying breadth and depth: performances with the world's leading orchestras; touring with Bach's Goldberg Variations on both piano and harpsichord; daring genre crossover projects; and best-selling albums of music for sleep based on the latest research.
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