Musical Offering: Ricercar a 6 (BWV 1079)

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 6 (Expert) · Baroque · Piano

The great six-voice ricercar on the “royal theme” given to Bach by Frederick II of Prussia in 1747: a summit of counterpoint, here reduced for two hands. C minor, 2/2, 206 bars (about 14 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Six voices for ten fingers: first find the theme at each of its entries, then practise in pairs of voices. A very demanding piece, to be taken very slowly. Practise each voice separately, then put them together slowly while listening to the counterpoint. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

More pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach

• Partita 4 (BWV 828) — movement 6
• Aus meines Herzens Grunde (Chorale 1) (BWV 269)
• Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major (BWV 772)
• Prelude No. 1 in C major, Well-Tempered Clavier I (BWV 846)
• Two-Part Invention No. 13 in A minor (BWV 784)
• Two-Part Invention No. 8 in F major (BWV 779)
• Little Prelude in F major (BWV 928)
• Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D minor (BWV 775)

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain