My second collection of music for flexible instrumentation is here! The first collection was “Three Tallis Melodies,” and now I’m excited to share “Three Fugues by J.S. Bach.”
These three fugues (No. 2, No. 16, No. 23) all come from book one of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Each fugue is about 2 minutes long and I think presents a great opportunity for students to learn about the form of the fugue. Plus, this music is simply wonderful to play!
Admittedly, the ranges of the parts are fairly wide, which I think makes this collection around the grade 5 level (these pieces were written for keyboardists!). I think students can really dig into these pieces and be challenged both technically and musically. Read more, listen, and see inside the score here.
I had a lot of fun arranging these fugues for 4 parts and envisioning all the different combinations of instruments that could play these parts. I also had a blast adding a simple timpani part (optional) to add another dimension to these pieces! (Who doesn’t love a timpani roll on a pedal point??)
I also just released one standalone fugue, No. 20, that is longer (5 minutes). I envision this one being performed by string quartet or string ensemble as the ranges are quite large. Read more, listen, and see inside the score here.