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A Closer Look At Lute Suite II BWV997: Fugue

Well, here we are again, and another fugue by Bach. This time it is the second movement from the second lute suite. It is quite a lengthy piece so I shall try to keep my analysis short, which is never easy with Bach.

The key signature is C Major/A minor but unusually it moves directly into G Major in bar 2, then back through C Major and A Harmonic minor before A Melodic takes us back into G Major again. This is a twist on the fugal subject as the home key of A minor is not fully established from the outset but instead is kept as a satellite of the more dominant key of G Major.

Bar 6 takes us into E Harmonic minor for the next 3 bars and then E Melodic takes us back to G Major, with the move then being repeated, and now the structure so far is shown below:

C Major – G Major – C Major – A H. minor – A Melodic –

(G Major – E H. minor – E Melodic) x2 – G Major

Now, you might think Bach going to settle down in A minor now, but instead he moves back to F Major and its relative minor before coming to rest in C Major, from bar 12 to 22:

G Major - A Melodic – A H. minor – C Major – D Melodic –

D H. minor – F Major – C Major

This sound is typical of Bach and it has this technique of complexity where he chooses modulations that disguise the obvious, a simple change from G Major to C Major, by using the above sequence. Its like a pendulum swinging back from G to C and on to F before settling in the middle on C again, a nice ‘wave sequence’.

The next wave sequence begins immediately from bar 14, this time focused only on C Major and A minor:

(C Major – A Melodic – A H. minor – A Melodic) –

(C Major – A H. minor – A Melodic – A H. minor) – C Major

The wave here is reversed, creating the sound of unpredictability in his music. From bar 23 he now moves back again into G Major and its relative minor again, and to reinforce the change away from C Major he even dips into D Major in bar 24, lingering in E minor before the move back to the home key of C Major at bar 30 once more:

G Major – D Major – G Major – E H. minor – E Melodic –

E N. Major – E N. Major b5 – D Melodic – C Major

This is an interesting sequence when the (+1) and (-1) alterations are taken into account. G Major to E H. minor has a raised 5th and then the Melodic has a raised 6th, so both (+1) moves, followed by the flattening of the 2nd in N. Major followed by the flattened 5th in N. Major b5 , both (-1) moves, so he really is heading along a less well trodden path in what is still only a change from G Major to C Major. The change back to D Melodic is ingenious, a simultaneous modulation that has two notes altered at once.

You see, the Neapolitan Major b5 scale is reached by raising the root of the Harmonic minor scale as shown: D E F G A Bb C# = D H. minor and D# E F G A Bb C# = E N. Major b5. So all Bach had to do was drop the D# down to D again and he would arrived in the stable scale of D Harmonic minor, BUT, as well as doing that he raises the Bb to B at the same time and moves us into D Melodic in order to resolve to the home key of C Major once more. Very clever.

Now Bach stays in C Major or its relative A minor for the next 21 bars, but plays around with scales over the static bass note of A for much of it, which is another one of his trademark sounds, particularly bars 38 – 51:

A Harmonic Major – A Harmonic minor – C Major – (A Melodic – A Harmonic minor – A Melodic) – C Major – (A Harmonic minor – A Melodic – A Harmonic minor) - C Major

You can see the wave sequence as mentioned previously, shown in brackets, and this is exactly the same as the previous instance, Melodic first, then Harmonic. This creates a sense of overall balance to the piece and is subtle enough to not be obvious to the listener. This is why Bach’s music seems so complex, when in fact it isn’t. The simplicity is in the sequences, but when they are not taken into account, the music can seem far more complex than it really is. (It is the same with prime numbers, but more on that at a later date.)

Now we are right in the heart of the piece, and now is the apposite time for real variation in the use of scales and/or keys, so here comes the first complex sequence, bars 54 – 63:

C Major – A H. minor – E H. Major – E Major – E Melodic – D Major – G Major – B N. minor – B H. minor – B H. Major – E Hung. Minor – E H. minor – E Melodic – B H. Major – E Melodic – E H. minor – E H. Major – A Melodic – A Major – D Major – G Major – E H. Major – A Melodic – A H. minor

You can see that so far in this fugue, Bach is limiting his choice of scales to just a handful: Major, Melodic, H. minor, H. Major, N. minor, whereas in the first movement, the prelude, he made use of ten scales. I think that the form of the fugue, and the constraints that the fugal form demands, mean that more unusual scale choices, which Bach employs many times in non-fugal movements, is limited and so is avoided as it makes the strict adherence to the form more difficult or even impossible.

For example, in the complex sequence above, if this was a non-fugal movement, there would likely appear Locrian nat7, Neapolitan Major, Persian and Persian natural 6 as well as more obscure scales such as Ionian b5 or Melodic b5.

It is interesting to note that this, the most complex, densely packed series of modulations in the whole movement, occurs smack bang in the centre of it all. Bars 54 – 63 are intense out of a total 109 bars. It starts at almost the exact halfway point and so I assume that Bach must have sketched this out, or at the least had an idea of the symmetry of the movement before he started writing.

The next sequence, bars 63 – 70, is a masterclass in varying the ways of changing scales. It is just a circular sequence, starting and ending at the same point, in this case C Major, but have a look at the changes involved:

C Major – A H. minor – A H. Major – D Melodic – D Major – G Major – F Major – D Harmonic minor – D Hung. minor –

A H. Major - D Melodic – C Major

First, raise G Mixolydian to get G# Alt bb7 of the relative A Harmonic minor. Then the parallel Major of A Harmonic Major. Relative then parallel. Drop the G# now for D Melodic and then parallel Major again (D Major). Back a fifth (G Major) , back two fifths and a simultaneous modulation to F Major then its relative D Harmonic minor, raise the 4th for D Hungarian to create the V – V to A Harmonic Major (E7b5 – A Major) and drop the G# to D Melodic and then C# to C Major. Nicely done. Summed up:

Relative minor- Parallel - Parallel – Back - back twice - relative – V – V – back and resolve. Its interesting to see the uses of relative and parallel minors used in such a way, instead of the modulation at the end of a section or second half, in music like that from the classical period, or even most popular music, the baroque style makes use of the relative and parallel scales all the time, from multiple keys.

A brief spell in G Major and its relative E minor and now we start the home stretch. First, a sequence much like the one earlier, focused mainly on scales on the A root:

(A Melodic – A Major – E H. Major) – (A Melodic – A Major – A H. Major) – (D Melodic – C Major – F Major – C Major) – (A H. minor – A Melodic – A H. minor)A

Look carefully at the patterns; (Melodic - Major – H. Major) x2 with a different root for the Harmonic Major, brief spell around the relative Major and then the wave effect of Harmonic minor – Melodic – Harmonic minor. It is quite astounding how many variations there can be with just a handful of scales.

Bar 98 introduces keys that are further away for the first time, the last exploration before the end sequence:

C Major – Bb Major – G H. minor – G Melodic – F Major –

A H. minor

First, a jump through 2 keys, C to Bb, then the relative minor on G. The F# of G Melodic is dropped to reach F Major and then a simultaneous modulation, changing Bb to B and G to G# at the same time and the home key of A minor is reached.

All that is left now is the final flourish to finish the movement in bars 102 – 109:

C Major – (A H. minor – A Melodic – A H. minor) – A Hung. Minor – E H. Major – A Hung. minor – A H. minor – A Melodic

First is the wave in brackets, the A Hungarian minor acts as a B7b5 to E Harmonic Major. Then A Hungarian minor to A Harmonic is another V – V and the piece finally ends with A Melodic still ringing in the ears. What a movement, so many great ideas contained within that I wouldn’t be surprised if Bach had written some down before starting the whole thing.

Next, we take things down a notch with the Sarabande. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out my M3 book here: https://www.bedwellmusic.co.uk/general-7

My facebook group on music theory is found here https://www.facebook.com/groups/modalmethodmusictheory


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