Invention 4 BWV 775 in D minor is an appealing work in the key of D minor and features an opening motif or melodic shape that combines stepwise movement with the interval of a falling diminished seventh. The realisation plays back at 60 dotted quarter note or dotted crotchet beats to the minute. Playing the D minor scale in its harmonic and melodic forms would be excellent preparation for playing this invention. The long trills bar 19 and bar 29 need to be played rhythmically and with control. There is some debate as to the notes to be played in the trill commencing in bar 29. The music editor suggests an F natural but many alternate an F# with the E In the video score, which keyboard players may wish to refer to on the PlentyMusic YouTube channel ornaments have been written out as they sound in the realisation to represent exactly what is being played. This is an invention where it is interesting to observe the different approaches to playing the movement. Many play the invention articulating the eighth note or quavers with a detached staccato while others play the movement with a legato touch. The former approach requires a lightness in the hands and can be a challenging because of the tension created especially if the movement is played at a fast tempo. Whilst there is considerable contrast to the tempo that the invention is played remember that movements cannot be played quickly until they be played slowly! Valuable time can be spent on streaming media listening to and perhaps watching different approaches that players have when performing this movement. What is fascinating is to hear some of the greatest pianists and harpsichordists playing what really are considered to be essential repertoire for players in their early years of playing a keyboard instrument. The Bach Inventions are generally considered to be intermediate level movements when played on a keyboard instrument. The key journey that features in this movement embraces the closley related keys of the relative major, sub-dominant and the V7 – VI progression bars 48 - 49 further adds to the harmonic journey. Imitation, inversion and sequence are all in evidence as compositional processes. There is opportunity to distribute the weight between the hands to give prominence to the entries of thematic material. Pianists will find it rewarding to listen to performances of this invention on streaming platforms particularly on the piano to get a sense of how important an aspect of piano playing this is. The principle behind J. S. Bach’s two part inventions is to take a musical idea or motive and then process it following the rules of good contrapuntal writing using the compositional processes of the baroque and at the same time referencing the closely related keys in the journey. Inversion, repetition, sequence, transposition, rhythmic augmentation/diminution amongst processes are evident in Bach’s inventions as most other music of the baroque period. J. S. Bach composed 15 Inventions in a collection dating from 1723 intended to introduce keyboard players to composition techniques of the baroque. They are excellent pieces for developing a sound and secure keyboard technique. A plain score is appended to the edited music score.
