Invention 4, BWV 775 -- Urtext

Two-part Invention no. 4 in D minor - Inventio 4

This Two-part invention no. 4 in D minor, BWV 775 is the fourth of 15 two-part inventions composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

It was composed around 1720 and revised in 1723.

This 52-measure invention has the following musical form :

• Mm. 1-4 : Main motive exposed by the right hand (in D minor)
• Mm. 3-6 : Theme answered by the left hand (in the same key, D minor)
• Mm. 5-17 : Theme re-exposed in the right hand and developed into a long phrase that ends with a cadence in F Major
• Mm. 18-27 : The left hand plays a similar long phrase (again based on the main motive) ending in A minor
• Mm. 28-52 : The main motive is developed into a counterpoint between the two voices until the final cadence in D minor

Please note that this score contains suggestions for playing the ornaments (in this case, trills) in accordance with Baroque performance practice.

Please note that the trills in measures 15 and 37 appear only in the Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.

Please note also that the cadential trills in measures 17 and 48 are editorial. Although not present in the manuscripts, these cadential trills are an essential characteristic of the Baroque style.

Duration : 00:51

Source : Johann Sebastian Bach, Inventions & Sinfonias, BWV 772-801 (1723). An earlier version exists in the Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach [Little Clavier Book for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach] (1720)