Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848 (WTC I)

History

Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848 (WTC I) belongs to the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach's collection fair copy is dated 1722. For many years its life was in manuscript: around 1800, publishers in Zurich, Bonn and Vienna/Leipzig brought competing editions into print. That long journey from manuscript to publication is part of this piece's wider history.

Sources

• blog.henle.de

What to listen for

1. 1

   A compact gesture gains answering voices

   The upper opening is joined later by middle and lower related entries. Hear the staggered arrivals before the texture fills out.

2. 2

   A running line becomes exposed

   The upper running passage is more exposed while the middle voice rests or skips and the lower answer remains active. Listen for the changed balance.

3. 3

   Sequences continue as the middle strand moves

   Recurring upper cells accompany a middle strand displaced between staves. Follow its continuity without interpreting staff changes as new voices.

4. 4

   Ornaments lead to a held close

   Ornamented exchanges and separated replies settle into a sustained C-sharp-major close. Hear the smaller gestures lead toward the final arrival.

How to practise it

Small return figure before a wide leap; short notes alternating with longer arrivals.

1. Sing the local return figure first and prepare the leap without stretching the short notes that lead to it.
2. Practise that longer-note outline, then fit the four short notes into their own space rather than flattening all lengths.

How hard is it

About this piece

Licence

Public Domain

Source

mutopiaproject.org

More by Johann Sebastian Bach

1. 1Prelude in C major, BWV 846Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
2. 2Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
3. 3Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: III. PrestoLevel 9, estimatedWith Maestro