Composer

:

Robert Schumann

Genre

:

Keyboard

Style

:

Fugue

Compose Date

:

1845

Average_duration

:

3:32

Robert Schumann's Fugue No. 3 on B-A-C-H in G minor, Op. 60/3 was composed in 1845 and premiered in Leipzig on December 1st of the same year. The piece is part of a set of six fugues for organ or piano, collectively known as the Six Fugues on the Name B-A-C-H, which Schumann composed as a tribute to the great Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The Fugue No. 3 on B-A-C-H in G minor is a four-voice fugue, with the subject based on the notes B-flat, A, C, and B-natural, which spell out the name B-A-C-H in German musical notation. The piece is characterized by its contrapuntal texture, with each voice entering in turn with the subject, and by its use of chromaticism and dissonance to create tension and drama. The fugue is divided into three main sections or movements. The first section is the exposition, in which the subject is presented in each of the four voices in turn. The second section is the development, in which the subject is manipulated and transformed through various contrapuntal techniques, such as inversion, augmentation, and diminution. The third section is the recapitulation, in which the subject is restated in each of the four voices in its original form. Throughout the piece, Schumann employs a variety of techniques to create interest and variety. For example, he uses stretto, in which the subject is overlapped and imitated in close succession, to create a sense of urgency and excitement. He also uses pedal points, in which a sustained note in the bass provides a harmonic anchor while the upper voices move around it, to create a sense of tension and release. Overall, Schumann's Fugue No. 3 on B-A-C-H in G minor is a masterful example of contrapuntal writing, showcasing the composer's skill in manipulating and transforming a simple musical idea into a complex and engaging work of art.

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