Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857 — complete pair

Johann Sebastian Bach (1,685–1,750)

First published: 1801
Key: F minor
Style: Baroque
Level: Diploma
Roughly: RCM ARCT · ABRSM ARSM · Trinity ATCL · Henle 7
Lesson: D.1 Connect a complete prelude and fugue
Musicianship: D.1 Chromatic neighbours
Focus: Independent voicing, subject entries, harmonic pacing, contrasting prelude/fugue character and complete-pair memory.

What its lesson teaches

D.1 Connect a complete prelude and fugue

Prepare the complete F-minor Prelude and Fugue, BWV 857, as one paired work. Reduce a phrase in each to its bass and principal line, then compare their different kinds of motion. Use the D-minor held-voice exercise as separate practice in independent lines; return to the F-minor score for balance and harmonic pacing.

Ideas: Reduction
Independent voices
Theory cards: Reducing counterpoint
The long-range line
Technique: F harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
D minor cantabile, hands separately: hold one voice while the inner fingers move

Edition and licence

Score: Open Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, official OpenGoldberg/MuseScore edition

Encoding source: https://musescore.com/opengoldberg/scores/719576 · CC0

Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857 — complete pair

Edition: Open Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, official OpenGoldberg/MuseScore edition

First published: 1801

Source: https://musescore.com/opengoldberg/scores/719576 (Open Well-Tempered Clavier (2015), MuseScore, CC0)

Open Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, official OpenGoldberg/MuseScore edition

Encoding source: https://musescore.com/opengoldberg/scores/719576

CC0-1.0

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Adapted by Musalea: converted to MusicXML and prepared for interactive practice.

The other lesson pieces of Diploma

Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10 No. 2 — complete, Ludwig van Beethoven
Étude in B-flat minor, Op. 8 No. 11, Alexander Scriabin
Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78 — complete, Ludwig van Beethoven
Berceuse in D-flat major, Op. 57, Frédéric Chopin
Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 867 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Impromptu in F minor, D. 935 No. 4 (Op. 142 No. 4) — complete, Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen, in E major, Ludwig van Beethoven
Mallorca (Barcarola), Op. 202, Isaac Albéniz
Sonatine, M.40 — I. Modéré, Maurice Ravel
Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2, Johannes Brahms
Étude in G major, Op. 40 No. 1, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: I. Allegro con brio, Ludwig van Beethoven

Practise all 157 lessons at your piano

In Musalea each lesson runs step by step, and after every run the app tells you what to fix: the bar, the hand and how to practise it.

14 practice days · everything unlocked · no card