Fugue in E-flat major

Following a subject through the texture

Mozart left this fugue unfinished; the score offered here uses Simon Sechter’s historical completion. Its opening places the subject in the lower register, then adds further entries while the earlier voice continues. The attraction is hearing the same musical idea acquire new surroundings, with no permanent division into melody and background. The completion makes that contrapuntal argument playable as a longer whole.

At the keyboard

Learn to recognise the subject before trying to balance the full texture. Practise two voices together and sing a third, changing which voice receives your attention. Keep held notes sounding for their written lengths even when another line becomes busy. A quieter entry can still be clear if its phrasing is distinct; every entrance need not become a sudden accent.

Music in this edition

1. Fugue in E-flat major