. The organ works of Bach. o familiar asubject in order that the candidates might come wellthrough the ordeal—an accommodating method ofconducting examinations that many students wouldlike to see revived. But if Mattheson wasso familiar with the theme, why did he give it insuch a miserably pruned form ? Schweitzer saysthat Herr Keller, of Stuttgart, explains the dis-crepancy thus: Mattheson could not give thesubject to the candidate in its original form, because according to the rules of fugue itwas incorrect. It is laid down in the rules thata fugue theme shall not extend over an H
. The organ works of Bach. o familiar asubject in order that the candidates might come wellthrough the ordeal—an accommodating method ofconducting examinations that many students wouldlike to see revived. But if Mattheson wasso familiar with the theme, why did he give it insuch a miserably pruned form ? Schweitzer saysthat Herr Keller, of Stuttgart, explains the dis-crepancy thus: Mattheson could not give thesubject to the candidate in its original form, because according to the rules of fugue itwas incorrect. It is laid down in the rules thata fugue theme shall not extend over an Hamburg examiner therefore thought itnecessary to alter Bachs theme in order to bringit into conformity with the eternal laws of theart. In this case the law has proved to be agood deal less eternal than Mattheson thought itto be. (By the way, the subject of a fugue byJohann Immanuel Muller, published in the Organ School of Zollner, Geissler, andKcirner, opens in this amazingly and amusinglyreminiscent vein : ?fc?l ^r^irr. The popularity of the great G minor, (even inthe most unlikely quarters) is easily understood. Inmelody and rhythm the subject is one of the mostattractive ever devised, and its treatment is marked I70 THE ORGAN WORKS OF BACH by a clarity and finish that defy criticism. It is notthe greatest of Bachs fugues—at least three othersshow no less technical mastery combined withgreater depth and power—but it is an uniqueexample of his ability to carry through a long andelaborate scheme without a hint of failure eitherin deftness or spontaneity. The latter quality isthe more notable because Bach handicaps himselfby a regjilar counter-subject—indeed, we may saythere are two, for the treble of bars 10-12 sofrequently accompanies the subject and counter-subject that it is hardly less important. Thethree are used in triple counterpoint, five of thesix possible combinations being used. The fugueis rich in episodes, the most notable being thatwhich introduces the li
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