Johann Sebastian Bach

Two-part Inventions

Bach's Two-Part Inventions, first printed in 1801, have played a key role in modern-day music education for decades. Bach dedicated the predecessor of these works to his son, Wilhelm Friedemann they were originally-titled Preambulum and compiled within the collection of piano music known today as Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1720). The principle aim of these pedagogical works was to promote the acquisition of clean two-part playing as well as stylistically-sound cantabile playing. As a musical form, the invention left its mark on the music composition tendencies and conventions of the 17th century as well as its musical performance practices. Bach'sinventions as a whole also provide students with insight into the fundamentals of counterpoint.