Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848

Keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848

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Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Major, BWV 848, is a keyboard composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is the third prelude and fugue in the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a series of 48 preludes and fugues by the composer.

Analysis

Prelude

The prelude is a lively 2 part texture, using a series of broken chords which swap between the hands. It is in a fast 3/8 time signature and is made up largely of semiquavers. Later on in the piece, the semiquaver line splits between the hands before ending with a short Coda in an improvisatory manner.

Fugue

The three-voice fugue is unusually void of the commonly used fugal devices, such as augmentation, diminution, inversion, pedal point or stretti. The cheerful subject is characterised by descending broken 6ths in light quavers. One of the countersubjects is constructed with running legato semiquavers, whilst the other consists of longer note values. The fugue has an extensive sequential episode which develops through related keys before the reappearance of the three voices.

References

• Bach Digital Work 00990 at www.bachdigital.de

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BWV 848 – Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major from the Well-Tempered Clavier I.

Interactive media

• BWV 848 Fugue (Flash) - David Korevaar performing
• BWV 846-869 Prelude and Fugue (Flash) at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext David Korevaar, Philip Goeth, and Edward Parmentier performing

Sheet Music

• Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project