List ABaroqueB flat major88 bpm~2 mindifficulty 6/9
Bach compiled the Two-Part Inventions (BWV 772–786) in Cöthen around 1722–23 as the first systematic course in keyboard counterpoint for his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann. The fourteenth, in B flat major, opens with a cheerful arpeggiated motif that Bach turns through inversion, sequence and clear-cut episodes — the whole piece a small masterclass in two-voice writing.
Technically the Invention is a study in two-hand independence at concert standard. Each hand carries a real melodic line, with no Alberti-style accompaniment to hide behind. The right and left exchange the subject; both hands voice it equally clearly; the cadence ornaments must be placed inside their beat without interrupting the flow. Articulation is the great expressive lever — Bach left it open, and a Grade 6 candidate must make a clear choice between mostly-legato or lightly-detached and stick to it.
Two pitfalls. First, the left-hand subject sounds quieter than the right when it's the leading voice. Train each hand alone with the subject highlighted, then balance. Second, students play it metronomically; the Invention wants a Baroque rhetorical pulse — a tiny lift at strong cadences, not flatness from start to finish.
Listening: PD recordings of the Two-Part Inventions are widely available — historical Glenn Gould (selected items now PD in some jurisdictions; complete in copyright), Wanda Landowska on harpsichord (Musopen), and the Bach Werke complete catalogue on IMSLP audio.
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