Bach fuge suggestions please

[coolpianoman]

I have been playing the Bach 2 part inventions for a while and have just about mastered 4 of them and will work through the rest over time.  It takes me ages but I will get there and learning them speeds up the more you tackle.
I play some of the preludes but have never tried the fugues and feel this is possible after my invention success.  Could some kind souls please recommend a few fugues which are within the skills of an intermediate player please?

[visitor]

Id look to working through the inventions next before fugues. 3 voices is next logical step before 4.

[themeandvariation]

It's true; the 3 voice inventions would be the next obvious step.. Though you could do the fugue in E minor, from book 1 of WTC..  (which is the only 2 voice fugue in the WTC)

[coolpianoman]

ah did not realise that they were all 4 voices - sounds tricky

[coolpianoman]

oops the 2 voice one sounds better thank you - I will look it up
No wonder the people at the piano clubs I attend usually do the preludes on their own!

[visitor]

Not so much that all are 4 v ffugues, but its also how long and complex or extent of voice and idea development.
The inventions which i love btw as i think they are ignored a lot vs the 48 fugues     inv are shorter and line ideas are a bit more straightforward,  it has to do w the complexity and interplay of the voices and legnth. Generally inv are much  more brief vs wtc fugues.  The longer they are the more control and focus you need before it can crash or unravel on you if you are just starting

[brogers70]

Some of the fugues from WTC are easier than the harder ones of the three part inventions. If you do decide to go straight to WTC, c minor, d minor, and D major are all quite approachable, no more difficult than the average three part invention. But then some of the three part inventions are just nice for their own sake, c minor, D major, and b minor, for example. You won't go wrong which ever way you go.

[marijn1999]

Wow, where to start? This man wrote so much wonderful music.

Anyway, what already has been said in former replies is right. After having a firm grasp on the Two- Inventions it's best to move on to the Three-Part Inventions (Sinfonias) as they don't really have the theoretical structure of a fugue (subject, countersubject, exposition, development, etc.) but do give you a firm grasp on three part playing which, as you will notice during your way through them, involves a lot of awkward fingering. I'd suggest doing some of the easy Three-Part Inventions, some intermediate ones and some advanced ones as well. Here's a list which will prepare you - that is, in my experience - for starting to play fugues:

• Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor, BWV 797
• Sinfonia No. 1 in C major, BWV 787
• Sinfonia No. 13 in A minor, BWV 799
• Sinfonia No. 4 in D minor, BWV 790
• Sinfonia No. 6 in E major, BWV 792
• Sinfonia No. 2 in C minor, BWV 788
• Sinfonia No. 7 in E minor, BWV 793
• Sinfonia No. 10 in G major, BWV 796
• Sinfonia No. 3 in D major, BWV 789
• Sinfonia No. 14 in B-flat major, BWV 800

Those are ten of the fifteen, but I suggest you work your way through all of them, because not only do they provide you with your first three part experience, they are also wonderful pieces musically on their own.

The best way to learn them, again in my experience, is by first figuring out the fingering for all of the piece if you would play it with all the three voices together. The next step is learning each voice seperate with the fingering you have figured out before. It is important to memorize the melodic movement of each seperate voice. Next play the top/bottom voice and the middle voice. So, for instance, if you play the right hand, it will mostly contain the upper voice and sometimes also the middle voice, but as soon as the middle voice leaves the right hand, continue playing it with the left hand as you figured out with the fingering. Last step is playing all the voices together. Now remember, this is a process. Don't move on to the next step before you have completed the other one and work in small sections.

After you've worked your way through the Three-Part Inventions, I'd suggest taking a look at the following Preludes and Fugues from both books from The Well-Tempered Clavier:

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

• Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 851
• Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855
• Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp major, BWV 858
• Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II

• Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 876
• Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881
• Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 884

Last note, I don't suggest learning fugues apart from their preludes, since most of them (not all) really belong together.

I hope this helps!

BW,
Marijn

[huaidongxi]

marijn, thank you for the coherent study plan on the Bach sinfonias and WTC.  for years the scores have intimidated me and have to take them on to improve my playing and reading.

[marijn1999]

marijn, thank you for the coherent study plan on the Bach sinfonias and WTC.  for years the scores have intimidated me and have to take them on to improve my playing and reading.

I know the feeling. The music looks very demanding on paper (and it IS demanding to learn), but the lifetime of experimentation and satisfaction you can get from it is unbelievable.

[visitor]

They are hard to fund and when you do damn expensive but rhe 4 rosalyn tureck books on playing bach and the progressive discussion and pieces cannot be veat. Seek those out suggest to you i do mhm (*best read ut loud in yoda voice  )

[chopinlover01]

The WTC I C min. fugue is quite doable as far as fugues are concerned.