Fantasy and Fugue a minor BWV 944
FugueFantasia Piano solo
In brief

This Fantasy and Fugue in A minor alternates energetic, improvisatory fantasy passages with a tightly woven fugue where contrapuntal lines intersect with urgency rather than broad lyricism. Technical challenges include in particular Contrôle du toucher (2.5/5), which here means shaping each voice so entries are clear without hardening the accompaniment, and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus (2.5/5), which requires preserving the independence of lines through distinct attacks and releases; Demi-pédale (2.5/5) is useful to connect certain phrases without blurring the contrapuntal layers. The exact period of composition and its place in Bach's catalogue are uncertain, but the piece's polyphonic writing clearly places it among his keyboard works. (No performance reference is given here.)

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MusicCoach difficulty
70/100
Advanced
Likely range : 54–86/100
Confidence : 57% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 7 to 8

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
6
62/100 normalised · 3 obs.
Relative difficulty
92%
Among Johann Sebastian Bach
87%
Era
72%
Genre
Estimated skills
Tone
Touch control
1
Pedaling
Half-pedalling
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
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