Fugue No. 9 in E major, Well-Tempered Clavier II (BWV 878)

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

A four-voice fugue in the old style (stile antico), in long note values, on a six-note subject: one of the most serene pages of Book II. From the Well-Tempered Clavier, 48 preludes and fugues in every key, the pianist’s “Old Testament”. E major, 4/2, 43 bars (about 6 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.
• Think like a choir: every voice must be sustained and legato. Play slowly, listening to the end of each long note. In a fugue, every entry of the subject must stand out; in a prelude, keep a perfectly steady pulse. Key signature with 4 sharps: name them aloud before playing and spot the places where accidentals cancel them. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment.

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 · CC BY-SA 3.0