Fugue no 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848

About this work

The subject of this three-voice fugue leaps forward with lively articulation. Its entries are less solemn than those of the C major fugue: they seem to propel one another while the semiquavers maintain the motion. This lightness requires a precise attack without turning every note into a small hammer blow.

Learn the subject with its exact rhythm, then listen to the way it changes register. The intervening episodes are more than transitions: their sequences maintain momentum and prepare the returns. One hand may carry an important entry and a secondary figure at the same time; distinguish the layers through depth of touch, not through a harsh accent.

Articulating without breaking the momentum

At a reduced tempo, play each voice separately while retaining the same breaths. Then combine two lines and check that the subject remains identifiable without forcing it. The 55 bars do not tolerate frequent slowdowns well: prepare the fingering of chromatic passages and keep a steady inner beat through to the final cadence.

About this edition


Scoring: solo keyboard; three contrapuntal voices move between the two hands.
Files: the printable document has three pages. The MIDI version contains 1,445 checked attacks.
Source and rights: the work is in the public domain and Knute Snortum's LilyPond edition is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The original heading gave BWV 851 instead of BWV 848. LesPartitions.info corrected this reference, compared the musical data, placed its link on the pages and prepared the practice notes.