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INVENTIONS and SINFONIAS
for keyboard (after J. S. Bach) | 50'ca. (2006) download | purchase* there are two audio versions, one on harpsichord and the other on piano.
PROGRAM NOTE
The Inventions and Sinfonias (BWV 772-801) is a collection of short pieces Bach wrote for the musical education of his young pupils. These are among the finest examples of artistic gems ever written for this purpose, and probably because of this, they became very popular among Bach's pupils and others ever since they were written. The work comprises fifteen two-part, each named 'inventio', and fifteen three-part pieces, named 'sinfonia'. These two groups of pieces are arranged in an identical fashion in ascending order by key so that there is little doubt that Bach's intention was to bring them together as a single work. On every facing page of an open volume each piece demonstrates the contrapuntal technique, while, at the same time, explores a wide range of musical expressions using various styles and developing the motives in a logical fashion.
Bach himself described his intentions: "Straightforward Instruction, in which amateurs of the keyboard, and especially the eager ones, are shown a clear way not only of learning to play cleanly in two voices, but also, after further progress, of dealing correctly and satisfactorily with three obbligato parts; at the same time not only getting good inventiones, but developing the same satisfactorily, and above all arriving at a cantabile manner in playing, all the while acquiring a strong foretaste of composition."
This original piece presents a deliberately distorted reimagining of the source work—a personal transformation of Bach’s music, as though his art were reflected through a broken mirror.
The practice of revisiting, recreating, and reinterpreting historical works stems from my admiration for Pablo Picasso’s Las Meninas, itself conceived in dialogue with Diego Velázquez’s masterpiece. The much-cited phrase attributed to Picasso—“Good artists copy, great artists steal”—captures a philosophy of creative adaptation and transformation: not imitation, but the absorption and reconfiguration of existing works so they may re-emerge as something both personal and new. In this sense, transformation becomes a key to innovation, grounded in a deep and active engagement with artistic heritage.
* audio version on piano
* audio version on harpsichord
Albert CARBONELL - INVENTIONS and SINFONIAS.pdfGoogle Sites
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