The Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BWV 998 by Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most substantial and beloved works Bach wrote for plucked strings — a three-movement suite that moves from flowing improvisation through strict counterpoint to a light, dancing finale. Bach headed the autograph manuscript simply "for lute or harpsichord," leaving the exact intended instrument deliberately open. On the classical guitar, all three movements find an extraordinarily natural home.
The Work
Bach composed the suite around 1735–1740, during his final decade as Kantor in Leipzig, when he was in close contact with leading lutenists of the day. The Prelude opens with flowing arpeggiated figures — improvisatory in feel, structured in logic — that build through a series of harmonies to a moment of expressive suspension before the close. The Fugue is one of the most unusual in all of Bach's output: it is in ternary form, meaning the opening section returns after a contrasting middle, rather than following the standard through-composed fugal model. Only two other Bach fugues share this structure. The Allegro is a binary-form dance movement — lighter in character, flowing in sixteenth-note figurations, a perfect contrast to the seriousness of the Fugue.
On the Guitar
The suite is typically performed in D major on guitar — transposed down a semitone from Albéniz's original E-flat — usually with Drop D tuning on the sixth string. The Prelude and Allegro are accessible to advanced players; the Fugue, which requires maintaining the independence of three voices simultaneously on a fretted instrument, represents one of the most demanding contrapuntal challenges in the guitar repertoire.
Performed at Siccas Guitars
Playing it
The Fugue is the heart and the challenge. Voice independence — keeping three lines audible and characterful simultaneously — is the central task. The Prelude rewards a singing legato tone; the Allegro needs rhythmic lightness and clarity.
See the full Bach guide and the Chaconne.
