Fugue in G minor, "Little", BWV 578
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Fugue in G minor, BWV 578, "Little", is a piece of organ music written by Johann Sebastian Bach sometime around his years at Arnstadt (1703–1707). It is one of Bach's best known fugues and has been arranged for other voices, including an orchestral version made by Leopold Stokowski.[1]
It is a common misconception that the Little fugue in G minor is so-called because it is unimportant. In fact, early editors of Bach's work attached this title to distinguish it from the later Great Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542, which is longer in duration.
[edit] Score
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The fugue's four-and-a-half measure subject is one of Bach's most recognizable tunes. The fugue is in four voices. During the episodes, Bach uses one of Arcangelo Corelli's most famous techniques: imitation between two voices on an eighth note upbeat figure that first leaps up a fourth and then falls back down one step at a time.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Kimberly Marshall, Bach on the organ, Early Music (2008) 36 (4): 661–664. doi: 10.1093/em/can100
- ^ Schnorr, K. (2001). Litanei und Ostinato in Bachs Passacaglia c-moll BWV 582.Anuario Musical, 0(56): 163–172, p. 167
[edit] External links
- Fugue in G minor, BWV 578: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Free scores by J.S. Bach (of BWV 578) in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
- Free download of BWV 578, recorded by James Kibbie on the 1755 Gottfried Silbermann/Zacharias Hildebrandt organ in the Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden, Germany
