The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, is unique among Bach's works, if indeed the term "work" is appropriate to describe it at all. "Collection" might be a better word. The Musical Offering arose during and after a visit by the aged Bach to Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1747. The king, who played the flute, gave Bach a theme of his own composition and challenged Bach, whose skills as an improviser were legendary, to turn it into a fugue on the spot. Bach managed a three-voice fugue (impressive in itself), but said he would ...
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The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, is unique among Bach's works, if indeed the term "work" is appropriate to describe it at all. "Collection" might be a better word. The Musical Offering arose during and after a visit by the aged Bach to Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1747. The king, who played the flute, gave Bach a theme of his own composition and challenged Bach, whose skills as an improviser were legendary, to turn it into a fugue on the spot. Bach managed a three-voice fugue (impressive in itself), but said he would have to deliver the requested six-part fugue later. He complied in fine style, with a Latin dedication whose first letters spell out the word "Ricercar," the form that was the immediate ancestor of the fugue. Along with the three-voice fugue, which may represent what Bach actually played in Frederick's presence, he added a trio sonata with lead flute part based on the king's theme and, as a bonus that really suited himself most, a group of canons and fugues containing puzzles and...
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