Like the more famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, this
work is thought not to be by Bach, or at least not for
organ, the material seeming better suited to the
violin. The fantasia opens with a dark, burbling little
figure that soon becomes a brighter, jagged theme
presented as a single line (as if played by
unaccompanied violin), gradually picking up a broad,
chordal accompaniment as the melodic figurations become
more complex. This flows straight into the three-voice
fugue, the melody built fr...(+)
Like the more famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, this
work is thought not to be by Bach, or at least not for
organ, the material seeming better suited to the
violin. The fantasia opens with a dark, burbling little
figure that soon becomes a brighter, jagged theme
presented as a single line (as if played by
unaccompanied violin), gradually picking up a broad,
chordal accompaniment as the melodic figurations become
more complex. This flows straight into the three-voice
fugue, the melody built from falling two-note units
that Bach stacks one after the other to give the
impression of ascent, before veering off into more
noodling material. The structure is rather open by
fugal standards, further suggesting that this was
originally a violin showpiece. Midway through the
fugue, the music descends into material reminiscent of
the beginning of the fantasia, then settles into a
stately chordal sequence, followed by more of the
burbling material and its toccata-like elaboration.
Effectively, the fugue has been interrupted by a return
of the fantasia, which concludes the work in a
combination of downward-rushing cascades of notes and
sonorous chords.
SHEET MUSIC