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

similar passages of octave counterpoint in several of Clementi’s sonatas (finales to
opp.33/1, 40/2, and 40/3)—thus might the demands both of virtuosity and of
counterpoint be said to have been met equally. A pause on the dominant-seventh
ushers in what appears to be another stretto, but becomes simply a highly pianistic
approach to the final cadence, which is reinforced both by a plagal tonic pedal (bb.187-
190) and another perfect cadence (bb.190-192). The sonata concludes with an
Allegretto finale, prophetic of Schubert at his most placid and bucolic.
At the cost of perhaps slightly excessive length and monotony of material, the
D major Presto discussed on pp.144-9 integrated the norms of both fugal procedure
and sonata form with impressive ease. Samuel Wesley may not have even been aware
that there was anything in particular to reconcile. Here, in the fugue of the Salomon
sonata, he chose to use a much broader stylistic palette. J. S. Bach (bb.1-49) jostles
shoulders with Clementi (bb.69-96, 135-175) and Mendelssohn (bb.112-115, 128-
134), each of these styles being present in its most distinctive and unassimilable form.
There are consequently a number of perceptible breaks in continuity during this
movement, notably at bb.50, 96, 112, 128, and 166—places where Wesley slips from
one style into another. In evaluating the fugue’s relative success or failure, phrases
like ‘stylistic contradiction’ and ‘insufficiently integrated materials’ come all too
readily to hand. These sorts of prefabricated judgements tend to hinder us from
listening to particular cases in order to decide whether a given ‘contradiction’ is
apparent or real. They arise from critical habits that unconsciously privilege unity over
variety and integration over contrast, seeking only the first and taking the latter for
granted. The movement’s ‘discontinuities’ are all strikingly effective rhetorical
moments. Slightly better questions to explore might be 1) are these moments prepared
and exploited for their maximum value?, and 2) do they contribute to or detract from
the movement’s total effect?
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