Johann Sebastian Bach originally wrote the Inventions and Sinfonias to teach his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, how to play clearly in two and three parts.
Recording & Production
This album's release is connected to Paulina Zamora's new edition of Bach's 15 Two-Part Inventions, published by the University of Chile Press in September 2021.
Compositional Technique
The Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue features a fugue subject that ascends the chromatic scale, a technique Bach also used in his late masterpieces, The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue.
Performer Biography
Paulina Zamora, the pianist on this album, first performed the complete Inventions at age 11 and the complete Sinfonias two years later.
Composer Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach experienced significant personal sorrow, being orphaned before age 10, losing his first wife while he was away, and witnessing the deaths of 10 of his 20 children.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach emphasized 'invention' as a key compositional idea for his sons and students, a concept affirmed by Robert Schumann who noted Bach as an inexhaustible source of new ideas.
Compositional Technique
Bach advocated for a well-tempered tuning system that allowed for modulation between all 24 keys, enabling him to explore the full range of human emotions in his music.
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