University of South Carolina
School of Music

BAIN MUSC 726C
The Canons & Fugues of J.S. Bach

Summer 2025

MUSC 726C | Blackboard

C O U R S E   M O D U L E S
Triangle icon Introduction
2. Counterpoint &
Harmony
3. Canon
4. Fugue


News

Welcome to MUSC 726C!


Quotable
Left quote
Bach with two notes: one in the right hand, the other in the left hand – he can build a cathedral.
 Right quote

 – João Carlos Martins


Course Description

Analysis of the music of J.S. Bach with a focus on canon and fugue

Reference Text

Benjamin, Thomas. 2003. The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. {Full text: TCL}

Course Documents

  1. Syllabus (pdf)
  2. Listening/Analysis
  3. Reading Updated icon
  4. Digital Anthology {DA}
  5. Bibliography

Topics

  1. Counterpoint & Harmony
  2. Canon
  3. Fugue
  4. Terms & Concepts
  5. Special Topics

Analytical Resources

  1. CHORALES
  2. CANONS
    • 8 Puzzle Canons
      • BWV 1072-78 {DA; BD}
      • Concordia discors, BWV 1086 {DA; BD}
    • The 10 canons of the Musical Offering, BWV 1079 (1747) {DA; BD; WP}
    • Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741) {DA; BD; WP}
      • Aria
        • Gould, JS Bach - Original Handwritten Scores - Goldberg Variations, BnF (by Glenn Gould 1955) {YouTube}
      • 14 Canons, BWV 1087 (discovered 1974) {DA; BD; Autograph: }
        • Autograph: BnF
        • Straeten, ed., Goldberg Aria & 14 Canons {IMSLP} (Straeten 2010)
      • The 9 accompanied canons of the Goldberg Variations: Canons 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 & 27
    • The 4 canons of the Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (1751) {DA; BD; WP}
    • The 5 Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her, BWV 769 (1747) {DA; BD}
  3. FUGUES
    • Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (WTC I), BWV 846-869 (1722) {DA; BD; WP}
    • Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 (WTC II), BWV 870-893 (1742)
    • Musical Offering, BWV 1079 (1747) {DA; BD; WP}
    • Mass in B Minor, BWV 233 (1749) {DA; BD; WP}
    • Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (1751) {DA; BD; WP}
      • Alvira, The Art of Fugue {Analysis: Teoria; Scores in PDF format: Teoria}

    4.

Online Media Resources
  1. Ambrose, Text of the Complete Vocal Works with English Translation and Commentary {University of Vermont} (Ambrose 2005)
  2. Bruhn, J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier: In-depth Analysis and Interpretation {Edition Gorz}
  3. Byros, Poetry of Tone {YouTube Channel}
  4. Christiansen, "48 Jewels" {Earsense}
  5. Computational Analysis
  6. Dahn, The Four-Part Chorales of J.S. Bach {Bach-chorales.com} (Dahn 2019)
  7. Edwards, Puzzle Canon
  8. Emmanuel Music
  9. Gran, Counterpoint Tutorials {YouTube Channel}
  10. Hogan, The Nikil Hogan Show {YouTube Channel}
  11. Kerman, The Art of Fugue: Bach Fugues for Keyboard, 1715-1750 {Open JSTOR; Luminos} (Kerman 2015)
  12. Interlude
  13. Ishizaka
  14. Lawrence, Bach and Friends (Lawrence 2010)
  15. Parloff, Music@Menlo
  16. Malinowski, Music Animation Machine
  17. Marissen and Melamed,Texts and Historically-Informed Translations for the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach {Bachcantatatexts.org}
  18. Mermikides, Milt(on Mermikides) Online
  19. Netherlands Bach Society (NBS), All of Bach
  20. Remeš, Go Figure! Thoroughbass & Composition {YouTube Channel}
  21. Rotem, Early Music Sources
  22. Smith, The Canons and Fugues of J.S. Bach {Internet Archive} (Smith 1996)
See also: BAIN MUSC 726A The Art of Counterpoint; BAIN MUSC 529 Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint;

Research Tools

  1. FindIt @ UofSC
  2. Dictionaries: Harvard Dictionary | Grove/Oxford
  3. Articles: JSTOR
  4. E-books: Ebook Central | EBSCOhost | Hathi Trust
  5. Scores: CPDL; IMSLP; Alexander Street
  6. Recordings: Naxos | Spotify | YouTube

Archives, Catalogues, Editions and Sources

  1. Bach Archiv Leipzig {WP}
  2. Bach Digital {BD; WP}
  3. Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) {WP}
  4. Collected Works

Journals

  1. Bach Journals
  2. College Music Symposium {CMS}
  3. Eighteenth-Century Music {Cambridge}
  4. Intégral {Rochester.edu}
  5. Journal of Music Theory {JMT; JSTOR}
  6. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy {JMTP}
  7. Music Analysis {Wiley; JSTOR}
  8. Music Theory Online {MTO}
  9. Music Theory Spectrum {Oxford; JSTOR}

Bibliographies
  1. Dahn, Chorale Scholarship Bibliography
  2. Tomita, Bach Bibliography

Main References
See also: BAIN MUSC 726C Bibliography & Articles

Benjamin, Thomas. 2003. The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. {GB; TCL; Full text: EBSCOHost; Ebook Central}

Fux, Johann Joseph. 1965. Study of Counterpoint: From Johann Joseph Fux's 'Gradus Ad Parnassum'. Translated and edited by Alfred Mann. New York: Norton. {GB}

Gauldin, Robert. 2013/1995. A Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press. {GB1; GB2}

____________. 2004. Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music. New York: Norton. {GB}

Kennan, Kent. 1998. Counterpoint, 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. {GB}

Mann, Alfred. 1987/1958. The Study of Fugue. Mineola, NY: Dover. {GB}

Schubert, Peter and Christoph Neidhöfer. 2023/2006. Baroque Counterpoint. Expanded Edition. Buffalo, NY: State University of New York Press. {GB; 1/e: GB}

  LEGEND
BA - Britannica Academic; BD - Bach Digital; BCW - Bach Cantatas Website
DA - Digital Anthology; EB; EBSCOhost; EMS - Early Music Sources
GB - Google Books; Grove - Grove Music Online; HD - Harvard Dictionary of Music 
IAWM - Internet Archive Wayback Machine; MTO - Music Theory Online; TCL - Thomas Cooper Library


Updated: June 5, 2025

Reginald Bain | University of South Carolina | School of Music
https://reginaldbain/vc/musc726c/