What to play after Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 58/100

Choose your level of commitment: consolidate, move up a tier or prepare a challenge. The top-ranked cards combine difficulty, risk, shared skills and confidence.

Back to the full work page
Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Sonata in A minor, K.54, L.241
Domenico Scarlatti
63/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Sonata in G major, K.13, L.486
Domenico Scarlatti
64/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue No.18 in G-sharp minor BWV 863
Johann Sebastian Bach
62/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Style baroque — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue No.21 in B-flat major BWV 866
Johann Sebastian Bach
62/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Harpsichord Suite in E, HWV.430, "The Harmonious Blacksmith"
George Frideric Handel
61/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Aria and 3 Variations, for harpsichord in A minor, BuxWV249
Dietrich Buxtehude
68/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Voix chantante and Connaissance des formes — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Aria and 3 variations in D minor, BuxWV248, "Rofilis"
Dietrich Buxtehude
67/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Voix chantante and Connaissance des formes — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Prelude and Fugue No.24 in B minor BWV 869
Johann Sebastian Bach
67/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor BWV 848 (WTC I)
Johann Sebastian Bach
66/100 +8 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Progressions computed from difficulty, skill overlap and style between works. A What do we play next? recommendation should remain a pedagogical starting point, not an automatic prescription.