Preface.
Johann Sebastian Backs Artof Fuge;
this hitherto unsurpassed, unique pro-
duct of harmonic ingenutty - contain.
sng: every Kind of counterpotntand canon
1m one and the same theme_ts the last
work which the great master wrote
down with his own hand. A serious
eye-disease prevented him, however,
from quite completing the ‘work, and
‘hastened Mus death. This accounts for
the noncompletion of the last fugue
(page 78) consrsting of 2 themes, in
the last of which the letters spelling
dvs name are heard in b,a,c,4* Bach
also conceived; but never carrted out,
the wnexampled idea of concluding Ave
great work with a fugue which was to
contain no fewer than 4 themes, all
4 parts of which were to be inverted
and thus, as the most eminent master-
piece to form the key-stone to the
Art of Fugue (cf. Forkel, Life of Bach,
pp. 52-54).
The first edition of all, which op-
‘peared in the year 1752, i two years
‘after the author's death, contained, as
4 supplement, the four-part hymn-
tune: ,When we must euffer deepest
‘woe which 18 still to be found in some
of the carly manuscripta. This hymn-
tune Bach dictated a fow days before
‘he died, when he was completely blind,
into the pen of hts son-in-law Altnikol,
nd it was afterwards added to the
work as a sort of compensation for the
incompleted last fugue. This may have
wen rive to the idea that said hymn-
tune belongs to the Art of Fugue,
which #8, however, highly improbable
443 it shows no relation to, or connec-
tion whatever with, the plan of the
work, for which reason the hymn-tune
dots not appear in this edition, but
in the Organ-book
‘AMhits the German letter for our note
0, Tr.Note the German b corresponding
fo our be)CONTENTS
ga XI a 4 voci.. 7
egnda d vos we TES : mc
=== a = Ss
Sen |
TAREE aa, ree
eS SS Sas | Se SSS
:
i Mla 4 voot,
Fuga XII a 8 voci.
Allegro.
=e =é
?
Fuga IV a4 vooi
pr ere
Foga XIII (inversa} a
sofia on ate ge EN (nwa) = =
Fuga XIV a4 voci (Variante zu NOX).
Fuga Vad voos. Un pace Allegro. Par 88.
Andante con moto. par ee ae a
Es === =F
a ‘e
? ?
stile francese)a 4 voci.
jp
Canone I (per augmenttionem in motu contrac)
Saige ea ota
Fuga VII a3 voci.
aatre malian put
i
= Ss
pe
Canone II (all ottava).
Fuga IX a 4 voot
Allegro molto.
Spsons I {eta tends)
lee ass Pa 68,
ee, eee
Fuga X 4 vost
AitSGeopmn molt inoderato
Fuga I per due Pianoforti
Allegre moderate, rae.
BF
Fuga X1 a 4 soci.
Miiggro moderato.
i et *.
‘Fuga I per due Pianoforti (in altro modo).
Rup geist =
Fuga XV a tre soggetti ed a 4 vost.
oderato e mnestoae FUGA I
a 4 voci.
Andante con moto.
sempre legato
P iF4
a
‘rallent. dim
f TeFUGA Il
a4voci
Andante,ma molto mosso.
Sempre legatd,ma ben marcato—s—
oe
C
be
br
te
SS
rattent. a: FUGA Ill
a 4 voci.
Andante.
‘sempre legato
| P Te= FUGA Iv
a 4 voci.
Andante con moto.
Tiompre Tearast4314
FUGA V
a 4 voc.
Andante con moto.
Psempre Legatoas FUGA VI
(in stile francese)
a 4 voci.
Andante sostenuto. S
==
Soempre legato ¢ marcato48
p erese,
oPaid FUGA VII
a 4 voci.
Andante sostenuto. J . aFUGA VII
a 3 voci.
Allegro moderato.
fr
S legato aecrese. 6 rail.