Programme

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685–1750)

Well Tempered Clavier – Book II

BwV 870-893 (1738-1742)

No. 1: Prelude and Fugue in C major, BwV 870

No. 2: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BwV 871

No. 3: Prelude and Fugue in C♯ major, BwV 872

No. 4: Prelude and Fugue in C♯  minor, BwV 873

No. 5: Prelude and Fugue in D major, BwV 874

No. 6: Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BwV 875

No. 7: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major, BwV 876

No. 8: Prelude and Fugue in D♯ minor, BwV 877

No. 9: Prelude and Fugue in E major, BwV 878

No. 10: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BwV 879

No. 11: Prelude and Fugue in F major, BwV 880

No. 12: Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BwV 881

INTERVAL

No. 13: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ major, BwV 882

No. 14: Prelude and Fugue in F♯ minor, BwV 883

No. 15: Prelude and Fugue in G major, BwV 884

No. 16: Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BwV 885

No. 17: Prelude and Fugue in A♭ major, BwV 886

No. 18: Prelude and Fugue in G♯ minor, BwV 887

No. 19: Prelude and Fugue in A major, BwV 888

No. 20: Prelude and Fugue in A minor BwV 889

No. 21: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ major BwV 890

No. 22: Prelude and Fugue in B♭ minor BwV 891

No. 23: Prelude and Fugue in B major BwV 892

No. 24: Prelude and Fugue in B minor BwV 893

Performer

Charlene Farrugia: piano

Programme Notes

From the beginning of Book 2, there is an ambition on the part of the composer to demonstrate his mastery with the use of musical elements, to create unique pieces that are more modern, more innovative and more imaginative. The Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major could fit as a prelude to one of his suites, with large pedal notes and less expected progressions. No. 3 in C# major uses again the method of repeated patterns with a much more evolved harmony, adding in the prelude a sort of coda that suddenly modifies the speed and character, and that serves as a bridge to reach the fugue in a much more rhythmic and dotted character. It is worth highlighting the virtuosity of the fugue of No. 4 in C# minor, which is continued in the prelude of No. 5 in D major, mixing binary and ternary rhythms.

If I had to choose one prelude and fugue for its beauty that would be no. 14 in F# minor. The prelude, in sublime delicacy, presents a discourse that develops naturally through the upper voice, with some imitative responses from the lower voices.

Among the latter, the chromaticisms of the fugue in No. 18 in G# minor stand out, as do the prelude in No. 20 in A minor, which consists of ascending and descending motifs that cover all the chromatic notes of the scale, generating a somewhat more mysterious sound.

Biography

Charlene Farrugia

The Maltese pianist Charlene Farrugia studied with Dolores Amodio and then Diana Ketler at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For several years subsequently she was mentored by Boris Petrushansky. She gained her doctorate in performance under Kenneth Hamilton with a thesis on piano repertory for the left hand. In 2018 she received Malta’s International Achievement Award. For her contribution to the music profession, she was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2020. An ambassador of EMMA for Peace, the Euro Mediterranean Music Academy, under the auspices of UNESCO, she is currently an associate professor of piano at the Music Academy, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia. With a wide repertory ranging from baroque to contemporary, she made her concerto debut with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of thirteen, playing Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto. She has since toured widely, engagements taking her throughout Europe to North America and the Far East, appearing in venues from the Manoel Theatre Valletta, Princess Grace Theatre Monaco and Château Sainte-Anne Brussels to the Smetana Hall Prague and Shanghai Oriental Art Center. For Naxos she has recorded Charles Camilleri’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featured on the album ‘Mediterranean’. In addition, she has also recorded the Piano Concerto and Tango Concerto by composer Beth Mehocic, released by Navona Records. Together with trombonist Cheol-Woong Lee, Charlene recorded an album for Sony Classical Records (Korea). Her solo album of works by Aram Khachaturian, was released to critical acclaim on Grand Piano label (Naxos) in March 2021, whilst “In the midst of things”, which features works for piano and chamber music by Karl Fiorini was released later the same year on the same label. Her upcoming album, “Melita – Piano Music from Malta” is set to be released this spring.