# Good first prelude and fugue?



## philhorlings

Hello-

I need a Bach Prelude and Fugue as an audition piece for next semester, fulfilling my baroque requirement. I haven't played through any of bach's preludes or fugues yet, but here are the pieces I am working on/have finished recently to give you an idea of my ability level.

Beethoven- Sonata No. 9 Op. 14 no. 1 Allegro
Bach- 2 part inventions 1 and 4
Chopin- E min Prelude, Raindrop prelude, Nocturne in F minor
Satie- Gymnopedie no.1, Gnossienne no. 3

So I'm still working on easier repertoire at the moment, but I need a prelude and fugue that will demonstrate proficiency while not taking me any more than a few months to have performance ready. Any ideas?


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## troyemcm

The first one I played was Book I Prelude and Fugue in D Major. The one in C Major (also Book I) would probably be easy to learn but may be frowned upon since the prelude is so simple. Book I c minor is a good one too.


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## arrigatolt

Hey, I suggest you to work on a 1st J.S. Bach GTK (first tome of well tempered klavier preludes and fugues). You could try learning the c minor and d minor. These pieces are a good start of Bach. Also, you could try some of the chorale preludes. Furthermore, I really suggest you to learn D. Shostakovich. The 1st prelude and fugue in C major are quite easy and also deep and moreover it is a poliphony which has a new XX. century style and reason. Good luck!


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## arrigatolt

*Edit* I've recently learnt the D. Shostakovich prelude in C major, 



 here is the link. Don't be shy to state your opinion :>


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## Rasa

When I went for my conservatory entrance exam I played the Prélude and Fugue in B major from the first book. It's probably one of the easiest, because the key with it's many blacks makes it easier to position your hand for polyphony.



> The first one I played was Book I Prelude and Fugue in D Major. The one in C Major (also Book I) would probably be easy to learn.


The fugue of the c major of the first book is very hard.


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## Il_Penseroso

Book I : D minor and E minor, the former fugue if you can handle brilliant trills with both hands and the latter (an exceptional two part one) if you have a good normal extension between your fingers.

P.S. In a totally review I find Bach Preludes and Fugues all too hard, maturity needed in both technique and musicality to play them pretty perfect well.


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## Rasa

I concur.

I tried playing some inventions the other day and barely managed. After 4 years of PnFs...


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## Sofronitsky

arrigatolt said:


> *Edit* I've recently learnt the D. Shostakovich prelude in C major,
> 
> 
> 
> here is the link. Don't be shy to state your opinion :>


Very good job! It's difficult to go wrong with the Shostakovich Prelude and Fugues


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## Romantic Geek

The easiest of them all is the C minor in Book I (in my opinion) but that one is probably the most played. The prelude for the Bb minor in Book I is pretty easy. The fugue is a 5 voice fugue, but it is slow. The difficulty just comes in careful fingering (which isn't my strong suit), but if you have solid fingering, check it out!






Not the best performance, but at least you can see the hands and keys pretty well.

[EDIT: Who's bringing up these old threads? This is 4 years old!!!!]


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