February 05, 2016

Bach played all sorts of games with meter, especially triple meter. A great example is BWV 536, prelude and fugue for organ. Bach achieves a very flexible rhythmic feel in the fugue, using a single meter in different ways. The piece is written in 3/4, but the fugue subject is constructed in such a way that it sounds in 3/2 meter.

At the outset of the fugue, the listener is more likely to hear the meter as 3/2. As more voices enter, the rhythm sometimes sounds in 3/2, and sometimes in 3/4, so that there is more or less a constant underlying tension between these two rhythmic feelings. The effect is playful and dancelike. To me it has a fleeting quality, something like a sparkle in someone's eyes, or sunlight glinting on the surface of gentle ocean waters.

I hope you enjoy this performance by Andrea Marcon, with score.

Regards,
Aaron