List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach

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This article lists the fugal works of Johann Sebastian Bach, defined here as the fugues, fughettas, and canons, as well as other works containing fugal expositions but not denoted as fugues, such as some choral sections of the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion , the St John Passion , and the cantatas.

Contents

This sub-list of the complete list of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach is intended to facilitate the study of Bach's counterpoint techniques. Each work cited in this list will be annotated with the fugal subject(s) and any countersubjects in musical notation.

Cantata fugues

Motets

Liturgal works in Latin

Quodlibet

Organ fugues

Keyboard fugues

The English Suites

The French Suites

The Partitas

Clavier-Übung II

The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846–893)

Preludes and fugues, toccatas and fantasias (BWV 894–923)

Fugues and fughettas (BWV 944–962)

Lute fugues

Concerto movements

Sonata movements

Sonatas and partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001–1006)

Sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014–1019)

Other sonatas

Cello Suites

Canons and fugal works in the last two chapters of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (1998)

Legend to the table
columncontent
1BWV Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (lit.'Bach-works-catalogue'; BWV) numbers. Anhang (Annex; Anh.) numbers are indicated as follows:
  • preceded by I: in Anh. I (lost works) of BWV1 (1950 first edition of the BWV)
  • preceded by II: in Anh. II (doubtful works) of BWV1
  • preceded by III: in Anh. III (spurious works) of BWV1
  • preceded by N: new Anh. numbers in BWV2 (1990) and/or BWV2a (1998)
22aSection in which the composition appears in BWV2a:
  • Chapters of the main catalogue indicated by Arabic numerals (1-13)
  • Anh. sections indicated by Roman numerals (I–III)
  • Reconstructions published in the NBE indicated by "R"
3DateDate associated with the completion of the listed version of the composition. Exact dates (e.g. for most cantatas) usually indicate the assumed date of first (public) performance. When the date is followed by an abbreviation in brackets (e.g. JSB for Johann Sebastian Bach) it indicates the date of that person's involvement with the composition as composer, scribe or publisher.
4NameName of the composition: if the composition is known by a German incipit, that German name is preceded by the composition type (e.g. cantata, chorale prelude, motet, ...)
5Key Key of the composition
6ScoringSee scoring table below for the abbreviations used in this column
7BG Bach Gesellschaft-Ausgabe (BG edition; BGA): numbers before the colon indicate the volume in that edition. After the colon an Arabic numeral indicates the page number where the score of the composition begins, while a Roman numeral indicates a description of the composition in the Vorwort (Preface) of the volume. [3]
8NBE New Bach Edition (German: Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA): Roman numerals for the series, followed by a slash, and the volume number in Arabic numerals. A page number, after a colon, refers to the "Score" part of the volume. Without such page number, the composition is only described in the "Critical Commentary" part of the volume. The volumes group Bach's compositions by genre: [4]
  1. Cantatas (Vol. 1–34: church cantatas grouped by occasion; Vol. 35–40: secular cantatas; Vol. 41: Varia)
  2. Masses, Passions, Oratorios (12 volumes)
  3. Motets, Chorales, Lieder (4 volumes)
  4. Organ Works (11 volumes)
  5. Keyboard and Lute Works (14 volumes)
  6. Chamber Music (5 volumes)
  7. Orchestral Works (7 volumes)
  8. Canons, Musical Offering, Art of Fugue (3 volumes)
  9. Addenda (approximately 7 volumes)
9Additional infomay include:
  • "after" – indicating a model for the composition
  • "by" – indicating the composer of the composition (if different from Johann Sebastian Bach)
  • "in" – indicating the oldest known source for the composition
  • " pasticcio " – indicating a composition with parts of different origin
  • "see" – composition renumbered in a later edition of the BWV
  • "text" – by text author, or, in source

Provenance of standard texts and tunes, such as Lutheran hymns and their chorale melodies, Latin liturgical texts (e.g. Magnificat) and common tunes (e.g. Folia), are not usually indicated in this column. For an overview of such resources used by Bach, see individual composition articles, and overviews in, e.g., Chorale cantata (Bach)#Bach's chorale cantatas, List of chorale harmonisations by Johann Sebastian Bach#Chorale harmonisations in various collections and List of organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach#Chorale Preludes.

10BD Bach Digital Work page
Legend for abbreviations in "Scoring" column
Voices (see also SATB)
aAbBsStTvV
alto (solo part)alto (choir part) bass (solo part)bass (choir part) soprano (solo part)soprano (choir part) tenor (solo part)tenor (choir part)voice (includes parts for unspecified voices or instruments as in some canons) vocal music for unspecified voice type
Winds and battery (bold = soloist)
BasBelCntFlHnObObaOdcTaiTbnTdtTmpTr
bassoon (can be part of Bc, see below) bell(s) (musical bells) cornett, cornettino flute (traverso, flauto dolce, piccolo, flauto basso) natural horn, corno da caccia, corno da tirarsi, lituo oboe oboe d'amore oboe da caccia taille trombone tromba da tirarsi timpani tromba (natural trumpet, clarino trumpet)
Strings and keyboard (bold = soloist)
BcHcKbLuLwOrgStrVaVcVdgVlVne
basso continuo: Vdg, Hc, Vc, Bas, Org, Vne and/or Lu harpsichord keyboard (Hc, Lw, Org or clavichord) lute, theorbo Lautenwerck (lute-harpsichord) organ (/man. = manualiter, without pedals)strings: Vl I, Vl II and Va viola(s), viola d'amore, violetta violoncello, violoncello piccolo viola da gamba violin(s), violino piccolo violone, violone grosso
Background colours
ColourMeaning
greenextant or clearly documented partial or complete manuscript (copy) by Bach and/or first edition under Bach's supervision
yellowextant or clearly documented manuscript (copy) or print edition, in whole or in part, by close relative, i.e. brother (J. Christoph), wife (A. M.), son (W. F. / C. P. E. / J. C. F. / J. Christian) or son-in-law (Altnickol)
orange-brownextant or clearly documented manuscript (copy) by close friend and/or pupil (Kellner, Krebs, Kirnberger, Walther, ...), or distant family member
Canons and fugal works in Chapters 12 and 13 of BWV2a
BWV2aDateNameKeyScoringBGNBEAdditional infoBD
12.Canons (see also: List of canons by Johann Sebastian Bach) Up ↑
107212. Canon trias harmonica a 8 D maj.8V451: 131VIII/1: 3, 6 [5] [6] 01258
107312.1713-08-02 Canon â 4. Voc: perpetuus A min.4V451: 132VIII/1: 3in US-CAh bMS Eng 870 (35b) [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] 01259
107412.1727 Canon a 4 (for Ludwig Friedrich Hudemann  [ de ])A min.4V451: 134VIII/1: 3 [12] [13]
[5] [9] [14] [15] [16] [17]
01260
107512.1734-01-10 Canon a 2. perpetuus D maj.2VVIII/1: 3 [9] 01261
107612.1746 Canon triplex a 6 G maj.6V451: 138VIII/1: 3after BWV 1087/13
[18] [19] [20] [21]
[5] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]
01262
107712.1747-10-15 Canone doppio sopr' il soggetto (dedicated to Johann Fulde  [ de ])G maj.4V BcVIII/1: 4
IX/2: 81
after BWV 1087/11 [27] [9] [26] [28] 01263
107812.1749-03-01 Canon Fa Mi, et Mi Fa est Tota Musica, a.k.a. Canon super Fa Mi, a 7. post Tempus MusicumF maj.7V Bc451: 136VIII/1: 4in SBB P 611 [9] [29] [30] 01264
108612.1750?Canon Concordia discorsD maj.2VVIII/1: 4
III/1: VIII
in SLB Dresden R 291s [5] [31] [32] [33] [34] 01272
108712.1747/1748 or earlier 14 Canons on the first eight notes of the Goldberg ground G maj.6VV/2: 119after BWV 988/1; /11 → BWV 1077; /13 → 1076; in BN Paris Ms. 17669, Bl. 18v
[18] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]
01273
13.Musical Offering, Art of the Fugue (see also: List of late contrapuntal works by Johann Sebastian Bach) Up ↑
107913.1747-07-07 Musical Offering Kb Fl 2Vl Bc312VIII/1: 46 [40] 01265
1080.113.1742–1749 The Art of Fugue (autograph)Hc (?) 251 VIII/2.1BWV 1080.2 01266
1080.2c.1747–1748 The Art of Fugue (print version) 47 VIII/2.2after BWV 1080.1 [41] 11581

Canons (BWV 1072–1078)

Late contrapuntal works (BWV 1079–1080)

Doubtful fugues

Notes

  1. Klaus Hoffmann 1983: composed by Bach, Festschrift Alfred Dürr, p. 126-140.
  2. Novello published: J. S. Bach: Prelude, Trio and Fugue in B Flat. Walter Emery contributed an erudite and extensive editorial note highlighting two key issues: Is the work really by Bach as the title claims? And why, on the original manuscript, now in the British Museum catalogued as RCM 814, did Benjamin Cooke seek to attribute it to his predecessor John Robinson, organist of Westminster Abbey up to 1762? Organists immediately recognise it is a version of the Prelude and Fugue in C (BWV 545). Cellists soon identify the central Trio as being almost identical with the Finale of the G minor Gamba Sonata (BWV 1029). In addition there is an interpolated 14 bar Adagio and a 5 bar Tutti just before the Fugue which are otherwise unknown. Walter Emery states "There are doubts about the authenticity of the scheme as a whole. ... If entirely authentic it represents a structural experiment unique among his organ works." The composition was unknown to Wolfgang Schmieder when he compiled his Index in 1950 so at the time of publication it had no BWV number. Bärenreiter, when preparing their complete edition of the organ works in 2009, for which they claim "all sources have been extensively researched", included it in Volume 11 as BWV 545b. The second question is: Why did Dr Cooke make a copy of the work and claim it was by John Robinson? At the end of the Fugue, Cooke wrote: "By the late Mr. John Robinson Organist Predecessor to B.C." A faint, anonymous pencilled note follows saying: "It is curious that Dr Cooke should not have known this fine fugue was the composition of Sebastian Bach, not John Robinson". Cooke had been associated with Robinson for twenty years and would have known he was no composer. Walter Emery posits every possibility including the slim one that Cooke had a hope of showing posterity his predecessor was a composer. To summarise, the reader must choose between two possibilities:
    1. That the Benjamin Cooke copy is an entirely genuine Bach composition.
    2. That someone came upon the Prelude and Fugue in C for organ, and the Trio in some form or other, decided to put them together, transposed the prelude and fugue and added the Adagio and Tutti. There would be a need for sufficient technique to play the demanding Trio; also the Westminster Abbey organ had no pedals until 1778. Walter Emery posited that the question of transposition is probably the key to the Cooke text, and must be discussed in detail. ... A copy of the music is available from the 'print on demand' service offered by Chester Music / Novello & Co at Musicroom.com. One of Walter Emery's expressed aims was "to dispel doubts by putting the work in general circulation so that it can be freely discussed by experts." The first performance was given in Canada in 1958 by Hugh McLean (former Organ Scholar to Boris Ord at King's); public performances since then have been rare.
  3. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, .../Prefaces, .../Thematic Catalogue: documentation and facsimiles at the International Music Score Library Project
  4. Neue Bach-Ausgabe: documentation at the International Music Score Library Project
  5. 1 2 3 4 Schulze, Dok III
  6. Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. Abhandlung von der Fuge Vol. 2. Berlin (1754), TAB XXXVII
  7. Herz BQA
  8. Neumann/Schulze, Dok I, Nr. 147
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Schulze. "Johann Sebastian Bachs Kanonwidmungen" in BJ 1967, pp. 82ff
  10. Spitta I: 386
  11. Wolff, Mf 1973: 217ff
  12. Georg Philipp Telemann. Der getreue Music-Meister. Hamburg (1728), p. 68
  13. Johann Mattheson. Der vollkommene Capellmeister. Hamburg (1739), p. 412
  14. Lorenz Christoph Mizler. Neu eröffnete musikalische Bibliothek Vol. III. Leipzig (1747), p. 482ff
  15. Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. Abhandlung von der Fuge nach den Grundsätzen und Exemplen der besten deutschen und ausländischen Meister entworfen ... Vol. 2. Berlin (1754), TAB XXXIII, Fig. 2–3
  16. Neumann/Schulze, Dok I, Nr. 158; Dok II, Nr. 325, 564
  17. Spitta II: p. 478 / 798
  18. 1 2 Kobayashi Chr
  19. Johann Sebastian Bach. Canon triplex à 6 Voc:. Leipzig (1747)
  20. C. L. Hilgenfeldt. Johann Sebastian Bach's Leben, Wirken und Werke: ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. Leipzig: Friedrich Hofmeister (1850), p. 212
  21. Clement
  22. Neumann/Schulze, Dok II, Nr. 559
  23. Smend. Johann Sebastian Bach bei seinem Namen gerufen: Eine Noteninschrift und ihre Deutung. Kassel (1950). Reprint in: Smend Bach-St: 176ff
  24. Nowak. "Ein Bach-Fund" in Fontes artis musicae (1966), pp. 95ff
  25. Spitta II, p. 506 / p. 747
  26. 1 2 Wolff Stile antico
  27. Dadelsen TBSt 4/5
  28. Neumann/Schulze, Dok I, Nr. 174
  29. Neumann/Schulze, Dok I, Nr. 177
  30. Spitta Vol. II, pp. 717ff / Anh. p. 19
  31. NBA VIII/1 Krit. Bericht: 36f
  32. Neumann/Schulze, Dok II, Nr. 602, 603
  33. Reich. "Johann Sebastian Bach und Johann Gottfried Müthel – zwei unbekannte Kanons" in Mf 1960, pp. 449f
  34. Stam, Mf 1968: 317ff, bes. 319
  35. BN Paris Ms. 17669, Bl. 18v at gallica.bnf.fr
  36. Alain. "Un supplément inédit aux Variations Goldberg de J. S. Bach" in Revue de Musicologie (1975), pp. 244ff
  37. Gárdonyi. "Zu einigen Kanons von J. S. Bach" in Studia Musicologica: Academiae Seientiarum Hungaricae Vol. 28 (1986), pp. 321–324
  38. Kennyon. "A newly discovered Group of Canons by Bach" in MT (1976), pp. 391ff
  39. Wolff. "Bach's Handexemplar of the Goldberg Variations" in JAMS (1976), pp. 224ff
  40. Johann Sebastian Bach. Musicalisches Opfer . Leipzig, 7 July 1747.
  41. Johann Sebastian Bach. Die Kunst der Fuge , edited by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Leipzig, c.1751.
  42. It is published as a Bach piece by Baerenreiter.