Reflections

The subject of this fugue, like so many, is a almost a little song all by itself. It is reminiscent of children's songs about church bells. The essential underlying harmony of the subject is I-IV-V-I, a three-chord tune. It is sweet, melodic; it is utterly lyrical. As is true of most great lyrical music in a major key, its temporary appearance in the minor mode (as it does several times in this fugue) is as poignantly. dark as the original is bright.

It the subject is a jewel, its elegant setting is as compelling. While the subject moves primarily in 8th notes, the counter materials run twice as fast using 16th notes. The first countersubject drapes so elegantly around the subject, it is effortless to embrace its grace as it sparkles around and through the primary jewel. It is complimentary, enriching, a stellar example of artful counterpoint. It first appears on the second subject entry, then comes and goes throughout the fugue, reappearing for the final subject entry. A second countersubject runs a simple thread of gold through the mix, a climb up the scale while resounding the scale's 1st degree, the tonic, the tap root its tonality. The composite counterpoint is still coherent, the three-part texture in bold relief, the song even more lyrical than before. The second countersubject changes direction quite a bit. It moves upward sometimes, downward at others. It is curious to notice that when it moves up, it adds a kind of exultation to the fugue. When it moves down, it pulls the fugue down with it, and it usually happens when the fugue has drifted into a minor mode. There is a great deal of up and down and their interchangeability in this fugue.

The remaining counter material is interesting to ponder. A brief 2-pulse (8 notes) motive appears just after the exposition, setting the fabric of the first episode. It is stated by the upper voice, then the lower voice and finally the middle voice in inversion. (None of the statements are literal copies of each other). The second countersubject then appears with a new subject statement. The countersubject here appears to be closely related to the previous motive: it looks to be an inverted extension. The remainder of the fugue is shot through with this motive, in snippets or countersubjects. It is of central importance. The fugue ends, following the final subject statements, with three final statements of the 8 note motive, first in the upper, then lower, then middle voice. Exactly as the first episode began but with one change: the final motive in the middle voice is no longer inverted. Some analysts consider this to be double fugue, with the modest motive serving as the second, highly influential subject.