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Baroque · fugue

Fugue No. 8 in D-sharp minor, BWV 853 (WTC I)

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 9, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A manuscript from 1722, a printed afterlife around 1800. Fugue No. 8 in D-sharp minor, BWV 853 (WTC I) is a fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 9, an estimate.

On this page
  • fugue
  • Baroque
  • Key of D-sharp minor
  • gentle

History

Fugue No. 8 in D-sharp minor, BWV 853 (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

What to listen for

  1. A middle line begins the conversation

    The middle-register line begins alone before upper and bass entries join. Hear its singing shape before following the later answers.

  2. Related gestures return in changing registers

    Opening-related figures recur among different strands. Follow their contour while noticing the changed register and surrounding support.

  3. Shorter figures circulate again

    Short moving gestures overlap descending and curling lines. Listen for the exchanges without losing the longer held voices.

  4. Descending strands gather into the close

    Upper and inner descents overlap sustained notes near the ending. Hear their separate routes converge on the final D-sharp sonority.

How to practise it

Maintain the subject's unequal rhythm as another voice enters after silence.

  1. Tap the subject rhythm on one pitch first, then restore D-sharp/A-sharp/B and the following descent.
  2. Count the silent soprano part aloud while playing the tenor, then add the held D-sharp with its own duration.

How hard is it

Level 9, estimated

Complex sustained contrapuntal writing demands independent lines, chromatic clarity and long-range phrase direction.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Johann Sebastian Bach, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Licence
Public Domain
Source
mutopiaproject.org

More by Johann Sebastian Bach

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

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Maintain the subject's unequal rhythm as another voice enters after silence.

Practise it in PlayPiano