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Bach, Johann Sebastian : Fuge C-Dur BWV 952

Work Overview

Music ID : 2259
Composition Year:1720 
Publication Year:1843
First Publisher:Peters
Instrumentation:Piano Solo 
Genre:fuga
Total Playing Time:2 min 00 sec
Copyright:Public Domain

Commentary (2)

Author : Asayama, Natsuko

Last Updated: June 1, 2008
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Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

Due to its unclear transmission history, this work has often been treated as a doubtful composition in recent years. However, given the numerous similarities in structure and atmosphere with The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Fugue No. 1 in C major, BWV 870/2, and Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Fugue No. 31 in C major, BWV 953, and Fugue in C major, BWV 953, it is considered highly probable that it is a genuine work by J. S. Bach.

The piece as a whole divides into two sections from measure 5, where the three-voice subject exposition concludes. Central to this is the perfect cadence in E minor at measure 23. Up to this point, the interpolations revolve around minor keys such as D minor and A minor; after this central cadence, the music enters the realm of major keys, returning from F major to C major.

In terms of the frequent appearance of clear perfect cadences in the first half, it is closer to Fugue No. 1 in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, BWV 870/2, than to Fugue BWV 953; however, the use of the E minor cadence as a central cadential point in the piece makes it appear almost like a sister work to Fugue BWV 953. In any case, it is a work that exemplifies one typical form of Bach's C major fugues.

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: November 20, 2023
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Translation in Progress
Writer: Ooi, Kazurou