Fugue (Fragment) in C minor, K. 626b
von Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Fugue (Fragment) in C minor (K. 626b) survives as a single-page sketch of only 27 measures, preserved in the Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress [1]. Although sometimes encountered under the incipit title Anfang einer Fuge (“Beginning of a Fugue”), it remains an uncertain, unfinished jotting whose intended medium is not securely documented [2].jpg).
What Is Known
A brief autograph titled (in later description) Anfang einer Fuge is catalogued as a “Fragment of Fugue in C Minor” and consists of one page, 27 measures, in ink [1]. The same record notes that the leaf was “inscribed by Georg Nissen” (Constanze Mozart’s second husband), suggesting subsequent handling and identification within the Mozart estate [1]. A widely circulated digital facsimile points back to the Library of Congress item (hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/molden.3121), but does not itself clarify scoring; the notation appears as a compact, staff-based sketch rather than a finished, laid-out score [2].jpg).
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Mozart’s putative dating to around 1780 in Vienna (age 24) places it near his early Viennese years, when he was increasingly preoccupied with contrapuntal craft—an interest that would later flower in more fully worked fugues and fugato writing. With this leaf alone, however, it is safest to regard K. 626b as an isolated counterpoint study rather than a document tied to a specific public commission.
Musical Content
What survives is the start of a fugue: a subject stated in C minor and answered in another voice, with further entries implied but not carried through to a cadence or any clear formal goal. The writing is predominantly linear (voice-against-voice), and the fragment gives the impression of Mozart testing a sober, tightly argued thematic idea rather than composing a decorative keyboard miniature.
Beyond that opening design, the page does not provide enough information to speak confidently about the intended instrumentation (keyboard, organ, or vocal/instrumental ensemble) or any liturgical destination. Its chief value lies in the glimpse it offers of Mozart thinking “in fugue”—setting a theme, initiating imitation, and leaving the continuation to a later moment that never came.
[1] Library of Congress (Moldenhauer Archives) finding aid entry describing “Anfang einer Fuge”: autograph music manuscript, 1 page (27 measures), notes on inscription and cataloging.
[2] Wikimedia Commons facsimile page for “Anfang einer Fuge (Fragment of Fugue in C Minor, K. 626b/27),” linking to the Library of Congress digital item (hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/molden.3121).