Fugue in G minor, BWV 578, (popularly known as the Little Fugue), is a piece of organ music written by JS Bach during his years at Arnstadt (1703–1707). It is one of Bach’s best known fugues and has been arranged for other voices, including an orchestral version by Leopold Stokowski. Early editors of Bach’s work attached the title of “Little Fugue” to distinguish it from the later Great Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor BWV 542, which is longer in duration and more challenging to play.
The fugue’s four-and-a-half measure subject in G Minor is one of Bach’s most recognizable tunes. The fugue is in four voices. During the episodes, Bach uses one of Corelli’s most famous techniques: imitation between two voices on an eighth note upbeat figure that first leaps up a fourth and then falls back down one step at a time. The subject begins with long note values, but gradually incorporates shorter and shorter note values as it proceeds. This creates an impression of increased activity, even though the tempo does not accelerate. The fugue has four voices, which enter from highest to lowest in the order soprano-alto-tenor-bass. The texture quickly becomes dense, and—after the opening measures—at least one voice is moving rapidly at all times.
Although the fugue is short, therefore, one needs to listen to it several time to hear everything that is going on. It can be challenging to pick out the subject, even once it has become familiar. Bach was noted for the density and complexity of his music. Indeed, that was the characteristic that earned him scorn in his own time—just as it earned him respect a century after his death. He also preferred to establish and then maintain a single mood with each piece of music. As such, there is little expressive variation within the Fugue in G minor. Once the engine starts, it runs steadily and unerringly until the final cadence.
This piece is found in many copies from Bach’s day. Around 100 years after his death, it was published no fewer than four times in rapid succession. Bach’s pupil Johann Georg Schübler thought the theme was so successful that he made a fugue out of it himself. So it was an immensely popular piece. It is not surprising, as the music is bursting with enjoyment. It conjures up a picture of Bach writing enthusiastically and enjoying his own theme while composing. It’s as though he can’t get enough of it, as it is a relatively long time before the second entrance appears.
Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton uses the beginning of the piece in the song “The Red Baron” from their album The Great War. The piece is transposed to C minor, and the first voice is lowered an octave relative to the second voice. The Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps also included sections of the piece in the opener of their 2017 program “It Is”.
