Counterpoints on the Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier

A set of Counterpoints for solo violin on 3 Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier for violin and piano (or harpsichord)

Prelude & Fugue in C minor WTC Book II
Prelude & Fugue in F minor WTC Book II
Prelude & Fugue in C minor WTC Book I

C minor Prelude WTC Bk 1 arranged for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

Duration: 12′

Premiere: Oct. 1996  Dorota Anderszewska, violin Philip lasser, piano
Paul Hall, The Juilliard School, NY

Publisher: Rassel Editions, NY

Since 1992 Lasser has been writing counterpoints to blend with the Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier of J.S Bach. What began as playful challenge has become a long-range plan to build counterpoints to all of the 48 Preludes and Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier. The composer writes: “These are not just melodies placed over the Bach works, but in fact are truly new contrapuntal lines built out of the same motivic materials of their respective Prelude or Fugue. In the process, a new work emerges.” Lasser later arranged the original Bach Preludes and Fugues for String Orchestra.