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Typical Fugue Exposition (4-part)
Music of the Baroque 55
A special type of variation form deserves mention, the passacaglia. A passacaglia
(and its close relative, the chaconne) is a unique form of theme and variations, in which
a repeated bass line, called a ground bass, is the central theme. The ground bass is repeated
many times with little or no alteration, and the harmonic and melodic ideas that
are layered over the bass line comprise the variations. The passacaglia was somewhat
rare, but the Passacaglia in c minor of Johann Sebastian Bach is a supreme example of
polyphonic variation technique.
Listen to This
Track #6 Bach, Fugue in G minor
This compact fugue, sometimes known as the “Litte Fugue,” is one of Bach’s
most popular fugues for the organ. It is a four-voice structure. The subject is
a surprisingly simple melodic idea, which is answered fairly quickly in the other
voices. After the fourth voice enters (in the organ pedals) the exposition ends
quickly and an episode follows. In this fugue the differences between an episode
and a stretto are fairly subtle. Rather than try to find them, simply listen to Bach’s
imaginative way of interlacing pieces of the subject among the contrapuntal
lines. The piece ends with a flourish, but quickly, in keeping with its nickname.
The End of the Baroque: Rococo
Many composers in the late Baroque period sought to clarify formal structures, and
bring more order to the perceived excesses of the contrapuntal forms employed by Bach
and others. Two of Bach’s own children, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian,
became exponents of the rococo style. This style, also called the gallant style, is characterized
by a homophonic texture with regular phrases and simpler melodies than the
complex polyphonic music normally associated with the Baroque. Several Baroque composers,
including Bach himself, sometimes chose to compose works, especially suites, in
the rococo or gallant style. Rococo ideals foreshadowed Classical and even some Romantic
concepts of musical style and timbre. As the forces of change gathered to end the
perceived excesses of Baroque polyphony, the next era, the Classical era, was born.