Le clavier bien tempéré I - Fugue 15 BWV 860

About this work

The Fugue in G major races through 86 bars, with six quavers in each bar. Its leaping subject returns in four voices, often surrounded by lines that extend its impulse. The challenge is to retain this lightness throughout the piece, including when the counterpoint becomes denser.

Mark the entries of the subject and practise them within a single two-beat pulse. Then play the four voices separately. When combining them, give priority to the newly entering voice and lighten those that have already stated their idea.

Going the distance

Divide the fugue into sections of eight to twelve bars and join them in pairs. Pay particular attention to restarts after a cadence: the tempo must resume without a sudden burst of acceleration. Keep the fingers close to the keyboard, with precise articulation and little pedal in the fullest passages.

Extent and provenance


Texture: four keyboard voices are arranged on the customary double stave.
Volume: this 86-bar fugue occupies four US Letter pages. Its MIDI rendering contains 1,755 attacks.
Attribution: Bach's original work is in the public domain; Knute Snortum's engraving is covered by CC BY-SA 4.0. LesPartitions.info checked the continuity of the four voices, produced the derived files and added its link to the printable pages.