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

that I make good fugues,’ he said with a curious sort of humility, ‘because I never have
an idea that cannot be used in double counterpoint.’ 37 Both preludes and fugues are all
rather lengthy, systematically distributing the material around the usual range of keys,
with the neo-Baroque pretence expertly maintained throughout. Looking at the E
minor fugue, for example—apart from questions of melodic distinction—we can find
subtle differences between the style Beethoven/Albrechtsberger are using here and that
of J. S. Bach in his maturity. There are a few prominent non-thematic entries (bb.17,
37, and 44), for example, and the counterpoint is generally simpler and uses a little
more parallel motion than would be normal for Bach (bb.32-33 sound disarmingly like
the sort of passage one might find in an early Baroque trio sonata). These are both
characteristics of south German/Italian fugal traditions; the fact that there is perhaps
not quite enough textural relief from the full three-part texture is, I suspect, a
characteristic of earnest students of fugue the world over. If the subject does not retain
its integrity throughout to quite the same extent as with J. S. Bach, there are enough
complete statements throughout to prevent it from dissolving completely. Certainly
the movement is thematically self-consistent: the little semiquaver motive at the
beginning of the third bar appears in nearly every bar of the piece. No Classical turn of
phrase can possibly make its way through this dense web of counterpoint—not a trace
of Beethoven’s own musical character can be seen.
And, in a way, this gives these fugues an odd sort of fascination. They are, of
course, pleasant enough to listen to—‘mere fugality’ 38 will always keep a texture going
with a certain minimum of interest and activity. But in this case our interest is
unashamedly biographical. The fact that we know it is Beethoven, the mighty
thunderer of the Eroica, sitting here, knitting quietly away at his counterpoint and
producing an object that is, aurally, virtually indistinguishable from the Birck sonata
37 A. E. F. Dickinson, Bach’s Fugal Works (London: Pitman, 1956), p.229.
38 Harvey Grace’s phrase: ‘Rheinberger’s organ sonatas (concluded)’, Musical Times 65/975 (May
1924), 414.
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