The Prelude in C Minor, BWV 999, is, according to its only extant 18th-century manuscript, a composition for lute by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the manuscript, conserved as Fascicle 19 of Mus.ms. Bach P 804 at the Berlin State Library, Johann Peter Kellner wrote the piece down in keyboard notation. The time of origin of the work is not known: possibly Bach composed it in his Köthen period, that is, between 1717 and 1723, or the early years of his ensuing Leipzig period. Kellner's copy was produced after 1727, but before Bach's death in 1750.

The Prelude can be performed as well on a lute as on a keyboard. In the 19th century, it was adopted as No. 3 in the keyboard collection Twelve Little Preludes. It was grouped with Bach's lute compositions in 20th-century scholarship such as the Bach-Jahrbuch of 1931, the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis and the New Bach Edition. It has been recorded in performances on lute, on guitar, and on keyboard instruments such as piano or harpsichord. In the 21st century, digital facsimiles of Kellner's copy became available on-line, for instance at the Bach Digital website.

Prelude in C minor BWV 999

Played on harpsichord by Gérard Janot

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According to the Bach Digital website, the time of origin of Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude in C minor, BWV 999, is unknown.^[2] Based on Thomas Kohlhase [de], the 1998 edition of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis indicates that the piece likely originated in Bach's Köthen period, that is, between 1717 and 1723.^[3] Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery estimated that the composition may have originated from Bach's Köthen period to the early years of his Leipzig period, which began in 1723, based on similarities with the Preludes and Fugues in The Well-Tempered Clavier.^[4]

According to Kohlhase, Johann Peter Kellner's copy of the Prelude dates from around the middle of the 1720s.^[5] A more comprehensive research into the time of origin of all 57 fascicles of the Berlin State Library's Mus.ms. Bach P 804 convolute, by Russell Stinson, showed that its 19th fascicle, Kellner's copy of the BWV 999 Prelude, originated after 1727.^[6] All fascicles of the P 804 manuscript were written before Bach's death in 1750.^[7] Kellner's manuscript is the only source for the composition.^[8][9]

The title page of Kellner's copy of BWV 999, page 101 in the D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 804 convolute, reads:^[1][8]

The composition is written on the next two pages, on systems of two staffs, with a soprano clef for the upper staff, and a bass clef for the lower staff. Although, in the first half of the 18th century, a tablature notation was common for lute compositions, Kellner thus wrote the Prelude down in a notation which at the time was customary for keyboard compositions.^[10] The Prelude can be performed as well on a keyboard instrument as on a lute.^[11][12][13] Kellner is known as an organist and keyboard performer: his copy of BWV 999 is the only extant instance of him taking an interest in a composition for lute.^[11]

Pages 102 and 103 in D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 804, Kellner's copy of BWV 999.^[1]

A concluding section, which could follow after the Prelude as written down by Kellner, seems to be missing. The Prelude opens in C minor but instead of returning to that key (i.e., the tonic), it ends on the dominant, in fact the parallel key of the dominant, G major, while the closing chord contains a Picardy third. David Schulenberg [fr] compares this to the Prelude BWV 872a/1: after a section with arpeggios ending on the dominant, it continues with a fugato returning to the tonic. Also, the last bar of the piece only has the duration of a quarter note: it is uncommon for a piece in ³
₄ to end on a bar with a different duration than three quarter notes. Whether Bach never composed such continuation of the piece, or whether Kellner didn't copy it, is not known.^[11]

BWV 999's brief, introductory nature (43 measures), improvisatory feel and reiteration of a defining motif fits squarely within the prelude genre of the 1710s and 1720s. Additionally, the shortness of the motif itself follows the conventions of early sixteenth-century prelude. It also served a teaching purpose characteristic of the genre, widely using arpeggiations and technical demands that served students well as an étude. Barbara Russano Hanning describes prelude features and goals: "The typical prelude assigns the player a specific task, so that the piece functions as an etude. In addition, the preludes illustrate different types of keyboard performance conventions and compositional practices."^[14] Such pedagogical traits contribute to the work's longevity; it is still an oft-used educational tool.^{[citation needed]}

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The Prelude's central motif consists of intersecting rhythms between the upper and lower voice (what originally would have been the left and right hand). In the right hand, this is a sixteenth rest, followed by a seven-note sixteenth passage that typically arpeggiates an inversion of a triad (ascending and descending from and back to the root), and an alternating sixteenth rest–sixteenth note pattern in the third beat. The left participates by having a pedal tone quarter in the first beat, a rest, then two eighth notes. The ascending and descending triad in Bach's prelude BWV 999 seem to have been the true inspiration and chord structure for the arpeggios in the Beatles song Because, because when the prelude is played at half-speed and on harpsichord, the similarity is striking, especially at measures 8–9–11, about 15 seconds into the prelude, with the repeating notes at the end of the interval being eliminated in the Beatles version.

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Contrary to its title and key signature, less than a third of BWV 999 is actually written in C minor. In measure 11, a Secondary leading-tone chord is employed (namely, a diminished F♯ seventh chord) to modulate and lead the ear to G minor, the dominant of the original key. Aside from a turn to G major but with a flattened 6th (mm. 34–38 and 42–43), and the reemergence of C minor (mm. 39–41), G minor tonality dominates the piece. Early on, the upper voice is repeated over several measures, with the left hand providing the only shifting harmonic background. For example, measures 8–10 are exactly the same in the right hand, but descending tones in the left hand create an expansion of tonic harmony.

In 1843, Friedrich Konrad Griepenkerl edited the Prelude as No. 3 of the "XII petits Préludes ou Exercises pour les Commençants" (lit. '12 little preludes or exercises for beginners'), which was included in the 9th volume of Bach's complete keyboard works published by C. F. Peters.^[15][16] The next year, the publisher issued the Twelve Little Preludes set separately.^[17] Philipp Spitta described BWV 999 thus:

Spitta, assuming that nearly none of Bach's compositions for lute survived, mentioned the third of the Twelve Little Preludes as composed for lute or keyboard.^[20][21] The Bach Gesellschaft retained the Twelve Little Preludes set for keyboard in the 36th volume, published in 1890, of their complete edition of Bach's works.^[3][15][22]

Hans Neemann [d], writing in the Bach-Jahrbuch of 1931, had no doubt that Bach composed the Prelude for lute:^[13]

Neemann identified five more compositions by Bach as intended for lute.^[24] In the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, first published in 1950, these compositions were grouped in the BWV 995–1000 range, in a section for lute works.^[25] The same six compositions were published in Series V, Vol. 10, of the New Bach Edition, in 1976.^[26]

The Prelude has been adapted for various instruments, including lute, piano and guitar. It is a pedagogical work much in the spirit of The Well-Tempered Clavier, with which it shares musical characteristics.^{[citation needed]} In the second decade of the 21st century, digital facsimiles of Kellner's manuscript became available on the Berlin State Library and Bach Digital websites.^[1][5]

Some guitarists perform the Prelude BWV 999 in D minor instead of in its original key of C minor (but they can however use D Standard Tuning so that when they play in D Minor, it sounds as the Original C Minor).^{[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]}

• "D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 804, Fascicle 19". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 14 January 2020.
• "Prelude, c BWV 999". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 9 April 2020.
• Dürr, Alfred; Kobayashi, Yoshitake, eds. (1998). "9. Werke für Laute". Bach Werke Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe – Nach der von Wolfgang Schmieder vorgelegten 2. Ausgabe [Bach Works Catalogue: Small Edition – After Wolfgang Schmieder's 2nd edition] (in German). Kirsten Beißwenger (collaborator). (BWV^2a ed.). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 407–410. ISBN 978-3-7651-0249-3. Preface in English and German.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
• Eichberg, Hartwig; Kohlhase, Thomas [in German], eds. (1976). Einzeln überlieferte Klavierwerke II / Kompositionen für Lauteninstrumente [Single handed down Piano Works II – Compositions for Lute Instruments]. New Bach Edition (in German). Vol. Series V (Keyboard and Lute Works), Vol. 10 (Urtext ed.). Bärenreiter. pp. VI–VII ("Zur Edition"), 81ff. ISMN 9790006462575. BA 5044-01.
• Griepenkerl, Friedrich Konrad, ed. (1843). "16. XII petits Préludes ou Exercises pour les Commençants" [16. Twelve little preludes or exercises for beginners]. Compositions pour le Piano-Forte sans et avec accompagnement Par Jean Sebastien Bach [Piano compositions, without and with accompaniment, by Johann Sebastian Bach]. Oeuvres complèts de Jean Sebastien Bach (in French and German). Vol. 9. Leipzig: C. F. Peters. pp. 73–83. OCLC 706038903. Plate number: 2838.
• Griepenkerl, Friedrich Konrad, ed. (1844). 12 petits préludes ou exercises pour le commençans [12 little preludes or exercises for beginners]. Pièces détachées de la 9me livraison des compositions pour le pianoforte par Jean sebastien Bach (in French and German). Vol. 16. Leipzig: C. F. Peters. Plate number: 2838.
• Henning, Uta (1987). "Zur Frage des Lautenklaviers bei Johann Sebastian Bach: Mögliche Zuweisung der Bachschen Lautenkompositionen an das Lautenklavier – Beschreibung des Instruments und Rekonstruktionsversuche im 20. Jahrhundert". In Berke, Dietrich; Hanemann, Dorothee (eds.). Alte Musik als ästhetische Gegenwart: Bach, Händel, Schütz. Bericht über den internationalen musikwissenschaftlichen Kongreß Stuttgart 1985 (in German). Vol. 2. Bärenreiter. pp. 465–469. ISBN 3-7618-0767-8 – via Qucosa [de].
• Naumann, Ernst, ed. (1890). "XIX. Zwölf kleine Praeludien" [19. Twelve Little Preludes]. Joh. Seb. Bach's Clavierwerke: Vierter Band [Joh. Seb. Bach's keyboard compositions: Vol. IV]. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (in German). Vol. 36. Bach Gesellschaft. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. LX–LXI ("Vorwort"), 118–127.
• Neemann, Hans [at Wikidata] (1931). "J. S. Bachs Lautenkompositionen" [J. S. Bach's lute compositions]. In Schering, Arnold (ed.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1931 [Bach-Yearbook 1931]. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 28. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 72–87. doi:10.13141/bjb.v1931 – via Qucosa [de].
• Schulenberg, David [in French] (2006). "Little Preludes". The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 169–176. ISBN 978-0-415-97400-4.
• Spitta, Philipp (1873). Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. I. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.
• Spitta, Philipp (1880). Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. II. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.
• Spitta, Philipp (1899). Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685–1750. Vol. I – II – III. Translated by Bell, Clara; Fuller Maitland, John Alexander. Novello & Co. {{cite book}}: External link in |volume= (help)
• Stinson, Russell (1992). "'Ein Sammelband aus Johann Peter Kellners Besitz': Neue Forschungen zur Berliner Bach-Handschrift P 804". In Dürr, Alfred; Neumann, Werner (eds.). Bach-Jahrbuch 1992 [Bach-Yearbook 1992]. Bach-Jahrbuch (in German). Vol. 78. Neue Bachgesellschaft. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. pp. 45–64. doi:10.13141/bjb.v1992. ISSN 0084-7682 – via Qucosa [de].
• Wolff, Christoph; Emery, Walter (20 January 2001). "Bach, Johann Sebastian". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.

• Hoppstock, Tilman (2013). "Prelude BWV 999". Bach's Lute Works: from the Guitarist's Perspective. Vol. Vol. 2: BWV 998/999/1000. Translated by Chalmers-Gerbracht, Lindsay. Introduction by Smith, Hopkinson. Prim Musikverlag. pp. 143–161. ISBN 978-3-941734-08-1. PRIM 1750-EE2. {{cite book}}: External link in |volume= (help)

• Prelude in C minor, BWV 999: at the International Music Score Library Project
• Prelude in C minor BWV999 – recordings at Primephonic website.