Prelude and Fuge in Eb Major (BWV 552)

I share Albert Schweitzer's opinion and believe that Bach's BWV 552 represents the Trinity of God. That's why I'm uploading this today at Trinity Sunday.

The structure of the prelude follows the French overture. A solemn first section (A) full of gravity and dignity for God the Father, two faster sections (B and C) for God the Son and the Holy Spirit. The structure then looks like this: A-B-A-C-A-B-C-A.

The registration is correspondingly bold in section A, and somewhat clearer in sections B and C.


The focus of the fugue is more on the inner relationship of the Trinity. Three fugue themes for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After the Son theme is developed in the second part of the fugue, the Father theme is added. The same applies in the third part of the fugue, where Father and Son are added to the Spirit theme.

To better express the power and majesty here, I chose a heavy, broad sound. In the Father fugue, I included a 32-foot register on the manual, even though this comes at the expense of tonal clarity. At 5:18, I also use the 16-foot Trompeta Magna coupled to the pedal when the Father theme appears again in the pedal.