Ricercar a 6

E301064

Ricercar a 6 is a complex six-voice contrapuntal keyboard piece by J.S. Bach, renowned as one of the central fugues within his collection *The Musical Offering*.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Ricercar a 6 canonical 4

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fugue
keyboard composition
musical composition
ricercar
alternativeInstrumentation organ
approximateCompositionDate 1747
basedOn royal theme of Frederick II of Prussia
catalogueNumber BWV 1079
composer Johann Sebastian Bach
counterpointType strict counterpoint
dedicatedTo Frederick II of Prussia
genre Baroque music
historicalSignificance central work in the study of Baroque counterpoint
considered one of Bach's most complex fugues
influenceOn later contrapuntal composition and pedagogy
instrumentation keyboard
intendedInstrument harpsichord
key C minor
languageOfTitle Italian
movementType fugue
ricercar
notableFeature continuous imitative texture
dense six-voice polyphony
high contrapuntal complexity
use of augmentation and diminution
use of invertible counterpoint
use of stretto
numberOfSubjects multiple
numberOfVoices 6
originalTitleLanguage Latin
partOf BWV 1079
Musical Offering
surface form: The Musical Offering
period High Baroque
positionInCollection central fugue of The Musical Offering
publicationStatus published as part of The Musical Offering
relatedWork Ricercar a 3
canons from The Musical Offering
scholarlyReception frequently analyzed in music theory literature
texture contrapuntal
titleMeaning Ricercar in six parts
tonalCenter C minor
typicalPerformanceDuration approximately 8–10 minutes
usesForm through-composed fugue
usesTheme The Musical Offering royal theme

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Musical Offering hasPart Ricercar a 6
Musikalisches Opfer hasPart Ricercar a 6
Ricercar a 3 isContrastedWith Ricercar a 6
BWV 1079 containsWork Ricercar a 6