J. S. BACH Jonathan Berkahn - Victoria University - Victoria ...

Although his music is seldom ostentatiously ‘pianistic’ in the manner of
Dussek or Clementi, this is the sort of effect that shows Wesley knew how to use the
capabilities of the piano when he wanted to. The ‘second subject’ is followed by
further development of the second fugal subject; Ex.2.15 returns, followed again by
further fugal development, and then comes the third part of this enormous sonata
exposition. The first fugal subject appears first below then above a tremolando
accompaniment, leading to a third appearance of Ex.2.15 and a surprisingly
undemonstrative final cadence.
After the repeat begins the ‘development section’ proper. It opens with a
striking passage of octave counterpoint, then settles down to the same sort of
sequential development as was prominent in the exposition. The first or second fugal
subject is present often enough to ensure relevance to the rest of the piece, but much of
the material is devised on the spot. Tonally it ranges as far afield as F sharp minor on
the sharp side, F major on the flat (i.e. widely for a fugue, but not for a sonata
development).
The recapitulation (b.283) begins with a fugal exposition nearly identical to the
opening, but its continuation is quite different. The first section oscillated between I
and V (as fugal expositions usually do), ending on V/V (b.358); this section now
touches a wider range of keys, including iii, vi, ii, and IV, before settling on V/I.
Twice Ex.2.15 is interrupted, first by a development of its sixth bar (b.365-72), then by
a development of its fifth bar (399-406), and as previously a development of the
second fugal subject then carries us to the third part of the recapitulation. This is
recognisably similar enough to its predecessor in the sonata’s exposition to fulfil its
structural function, but again the details are worked out quite differently, with an
effective detour flatward as far as C minor (bb.452-56). Clearly Samuel Wesley was
not tempted to fill out his capacious design with large stretches of literal repetition.
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