Fugue No. 17 in A-flat major, BWV 862 (WTC I)

History

Fugue No. 17 in A-flat major, BWV 862 (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 cross-staff line opens the dialogue

   The opening line moves between staves before its lower answer and later upper entries. Follow the strand without assigning every staff change to a new musical idea.

2. 2

   Upper entries fill the waiting space

   Related upper contours join above lower motion and separated exchanges. Hear the new layer arrive rather than treating the earlier upper rests as missing music.

3. 3

   Recalls become more densely layered

   Written recalls overlap lower sequences, staff transfers and upper chord combinations. Listen for the familiar contour within the fuller texture.

4. 4

   Independent responses settle on A-flat

   Descending and chordal replies arrive at held A-flat support. Hear their separate motion gather into the final sustained sound.

How to practise it

Broken low outline before the higher entry; long higher tone across a low return.

1. Sing and practise the four low notes first, then add the higher entry without inserting a break between them.
2. Rehearse the overlap slowly and retain the higher sound through the low return, rather than releasing both together.

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