This work is difficult to date, although some
musicologists place it in the period 1723 - 1729. It
bears a thematic kinship -- or so it seems -- with the
Fugue in G minor "Great" (BWV 542), which was probably
written in the early 1720s but most likely before 1725
when Bach was serving as Kapellmeister in Cöthen or
just beginning duties in his post as Kantor in Leipzig.
Thus, it is reasonable to surmise that it was composed
around that same two- or three-year time frame. In any
event, it is a fi...(+)
This work is difficult to date, although some
musicologists place it in the period 1723 - 1729. It
bears a thematic kinship -- or so it seems -- with the
Fugue in G minor "Great" (BWV 542), which was probably
written in the early 1720s but most likely before 1725
when Bach was serving as Kapellmeister in Cöthen or
just beginning duties in his post as Kantor in Leipzig.
Thus, it is reasonable to surmise that it was composed
around that same two- or three-year time frame. In any
event, it is a fine, if lesser effort by Bach,
exhibiting the composer's usual mastery in contrapuntal
writing and form. The work opens with a stately theme
in the soprano ranges, played at a deliberate tempo.
Actually, there are two main lines in the upper ranges
throughout most of this trio, as is usual in this form.
To some, the music will exhibit a somewhat somber
manner, though repeated hearings will reveal a wealth
of interesting detail in Bach's secondary lines --
lines which themselves often move to the foreground,
then recede to the background so naturally. Bach
brilliantly manipulates the two upper voices to
alternate their roles in delivering the main and
secondary lines. This minor but still important work
typically has a duration of five minutes.
PARTITION