AFTERTONE · SCORE GUIDE
The Well-Tempered Clavier: choose a pair and read the edition
A title such as “Prelude in B minor” is not enough to identify a score. Start with the book, BWV number and movement, then check the edition. These three checks prevent a surprising number of mismatches between a lesson, a recording and a downloaded PDF.
1. Match the book and the BWV number
Book I contains the pairs BWV 846–869; Book II contains BWV 870–893. Within either book, the prelude and its companion fugue share a BWV number. The same key appears in both books, but those works are different pieces.
| Key | Book I pair | Book II pair |
|---|---|---|
| C major | No. 1 · BWV 846 | No. 1 · BWV 870 |
| B minor | No. 24 · BWV 869 | No. 24 · BWV 893 |
2. Open both movements when you need the pair
AFTERTONE lists each movement as a separate download. A prelude PDF does not automatically contain its fugue. Use the paired collection listing, or the related-score links below the preview, to find the companion. Check each movement’s page count independently.
For example, the library’s BWV 893 prelude and fugue are separate scores. Their live catalogue details are shown below. The preview displays at most two pages, so use the full download when the listed page count is larger.
3. Check the version before reporting a discrepancy
The BWV 893 prelude in this library follows the autograph-version transcription in Knute Snortum’s digital edition. That source also provides a separate version after Altnikol. A different reading in another score or recording is a reason to compare the source and passage, not enough on its own to identify a printing error.
When comparing editions, note the movement, the measure and the voice, then compare the surrounding notes too. Page and system breaks change with engraving, so “page 2, second line” may refer to different music in another layout. Keep the edition name or source link with your notes.
4. Make a first reading with one question at a time
- Read the prelude’s opening meter, key signature and rhythmic pattern. Choose a short passage and identify what repeats and what changes before selecting a practice speed.
- In the fugue, listen to or play the opening subject alone. Mark its next clearly recognizable entry, then follow what the earlier voice does while the new one enters.
- Follow a voice through its rests and sustained notes. A staff or a hand is not always the same thing as a musical voice; use note stems, rests and the phrase to help you keep track.
- Practise a difficult combination of voices in a short section before attempting a full run. Return to the complete texture to check whether the line you isolated remains audible.
5. Assess the two movements separately
The relative ease of a prelude does not establish the difficulty of its fugue. Check the amount of independent voice movement, the reading demands and the places where you must sustain one note while moving another. Page count measures a layout, not the time you will need to learn the music.
For a useful practice note, write the full identification and a concrete task: for instance, “Book II, BWV 893, prelude: keep the pulse through the rests in this passage”. This is more actionable than “practise the B-minor piece faster”.
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Sources & notes
Source links identify the work groups and the two BWV 893 versions. The reading routine is an AFTERTONE editorial suggestion; it does not claim a complete critical comparison of the sources.