Performance Record of J. S. Bach – Sinfonia No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 788

Overview: A performance and personal musical analysis of J. S. Bach's Sinfonia No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 788. Reiji explores perceived harmonic relationships between scalar passages and notes played by the opposite hand, using 5-limit just intonation as a point of comparison. He also examines how sustained notes, overlapping sonorities, and a personally interpreted chord progression contribute to tension and resolution. These observations inform his approach to timing, resonance, and the contrast between the opening passage and the more brilliant character he seeks from measure 5 onward.

Note: All content on this page is originally explained by Reiji in Japanese. The English version is translated by AI and structured by a parent, with Reiji's final approval.

Reiji's Words and Ideas

• Performer's Notes:
  
  I feel that this piece contains many passages in which the notes of a scale have harmonic relationships with the notes played by the opposite hand.
  
  For example, the scale in measure 5 contains the notes C, E♭, G, A♭, and B♭. These notes approximately correspond to the harmonic series based on the A♭ played by the left hand.
  
  Here, I have selected relationships based on 5-limit just intonation, generally within a deviation of approximately ±20 cents. However, where the syntonic comma is involved, I have also included differences of up to approximately 21.51 cents.
  
  Similar relationships can be found in measures 6, 8, 9, 14, and 15, as well as measures 17–26, 28–29, and 31–32.
  
  Throughout the piece's 32 measures, I feel that there are remarkably many passages in which the notes of a scale correspond harmonically to the notes played by the opposite hand.
  
  For this reason, in these passages, I try to let the harmonics resonate fully and bring out the beauty of the notes that correspond to one another. More specifically, I play the scale rapidly and decisively, timing its entrance to coincide with the emergence of the harmonics from the note played by the opposite hand.
  
  In this way, although the piece is in a minor key, I aim to give the performance a bright and brilliant character.
  
  Another passage I pay particular attention to occurs in measure 2, where the alto voice enters and the strong support previously provided by the left-hand bass is reduced.
  
  Here, I hold the final D in the right-hand soprano voice slightly longer, allowing it to overlap with the following E♭. This creates the sonority of Cmadd9 (C minor add ninth), producing a strong sense of tension.
  
  By playing this way, and interpreting the progression in groups of three eighth notes, I hear the harmonic progression from measure 1 as follows:
  
  Cm → Cm → G → G7 → Cm → Fm → G → G7♭9 → G7 → Cmadd9 → Cm → G → G7 → Cm → Fm7 → G7♭9 → G7♭9 → Cm …
  
  In this interpretation, I aim to create a strong sense of tension beginning with Cmadd9, allowing it to intensify through the following progression, and then to produce a powerful sense of resolution through G7♭9 → Cm.
  
  The Cm chord that provides this resolution occurs at the beginning of measure 5.
  
  From this measure onward, many of the scales with the harmonic relationships described earlier begin to appear.
  
  Therefore, from measure 5 onward, I shift toward a more brilliant style of playing that makes use of the resonance of the harmonics. By doing so, I aim to create a clear contrast with the preceding passage, which is characterized by strong harmonic tension, and to bring out a greater range of expression throughout the piece.

*The above reflects the performer's own analysis of the music and personal interpretation.