Schenker against the Pack: Controversial Hypermetres in Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C major, The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I

Is musical analysis meant to guide performance – or to be based on it? Can a Schenkerian analysis of a piece be corroborated by a performance or an arrangement? This article addresses these questions through a well-known test case – the first prelude of the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, as analysed by Heinrich Schenker in Five Graphic Analyses. The emphasis is on the hypermetric aspect, which has direct implications for performance. The authors juxtapose Schenker's hypermetric perception of the Prelude with the performance instructions contributed by well-known composers, pianists and musicologists to 37 historical instructive editions of WTC I. In addition, we compare Schenker's reading with works by composers who employed the Prelude as the basis for their works, with other music theorists who analysed the hypermetre of the Prelude and with Bach's preliminary versions of the piece. We consider arguments in support of Schenker's interpretation and ask whether one should follow one's musical intuition or the dictates of music theory.