Comparing Bach’s Fugue in C Minor and Mozart’s Piano

Sonata No. 11
By Owen Gibson

Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Piano
Sonata No. 11 in A Major” both share similarities and exhibit differences in their structure,
pitch and duration. Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” was written in 1722 as part
of a book titled “Das Wohltemperierte Klavier” (or The Well-Tempered Clavier), which
contained preludes and fugues written for solo keyboard in all 24 major and minor keys.
Bach composed these works “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning,
and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study”1. Mozart’s “Piano Sonata
No. 11 in A Major” was composed around 1783 and published in 1784 by Artaria alongside
Sonatas No. 10 and No. 12 (C Major and F Major, respectively).

Fugue No. 2 in C Minor

J.S. Bach’s “Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” uses many musical devices relating to structure, pitch
and duration. This piece follows a classic fugue structure. The fugue is 31 bars long and has 3
different voices, each always playing a distinctive melody. It has a subject which is stated at
the beginning in the middle voice.

The subject.

The subject starts on the second quaver of the bar with a three note group (C-B-C) which is
repeated every two beats, three times. It is played throughout the piece in different voices
in the pattern of middle, upper, lower, upper. After the subject is stated for the first time, it
is then repeated in the upper voice, in the dominant key (G minor), while a counter-subject
is played in the middle voice. This is then followed by an ‘episode’. The first episode starts in
bar 5 and lasts for 2 bars. In the upper voice, an ascending sequence based on the subject is
found. Whereas in the lower voice, the first counter-subject is flipped, so that it is ascending
rather than descending. The subject and first counter-subject are then repeated again this
time in the upper and lower voices, respectively. A second counter-subject is also played
here in the middle voice. This pattern of two bar sections (subject and counter-subjects,
episode, etc.) is repeated until bar 22. This is where a final, extended 4 bar episode is
played. Following this is a two bar phrase where the two counter-subjects are repeated for a
final time in the upper and middle voices, while the subject is played in the lower voice. A
short cadence is played, followed by a tonic pedal note while the subject is stated one last
time, ending with a tierce de Picardy, on a C major chord.

The structure of the fugue.

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major

W.A. Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major”, as well as Bach’s fugue, is a piece full of
different stylistic devices communicated through structure, pitch and duration. Although
this piece is a sonata, it is not in what we know now as ‘sonata form’. In the Classical period,
pieces with several movements came to be known as sonatas. This sonata consists of 3
movements. The first movement, “Andante grazioso”, is a theme with six variations. This
movement is named for its tempo marking, ‘andante grazioso’ which means ‘at a walking
pace, gracefully’. Mozart challenged society’s then convention of beginning a sonata with an
allegro movement in sonata form by having a theme and variations instead. The theme
consists of two 8-bar sections, each being repeated once. This structure is shared by each
variation. The theme is also a ‘siciliana’2, which is characterised by its slow 68 or 128 time, in
addition to lilting rhythms, usually in a pattern of dotted quaver, semiquaver, quaver,
creating a slow jig or tarantella-like feel.

Beginning of theme of ‘andante grazioso’, with sicilianic rhythms.

After the theme, there are 6 variations of said theme. These variations differ from the
melody of the theme, but mostly keep the same structure. The second movement, titled
“Menuetto”, is a minuet and trio. A minuet is a type of dance, (although the music that
accompanies the dance is also called a minuet) which is almost always in 34 or triple time.
The term ‘trio’ in minuet and trio does not necessarily refer to three musicians but rather
the contrasting melody that appears between two statements of the first ‘minuet’ melody.
The third and final movement, “Alla Turca” or more commonly “Turkish Rondo”, “Turkish
March” or “Rondo Alla Turca”, is a rondo with the form A–B–C–D–E–C–A–B–C–coda, with
each section except the coda being repeated. This movement imitates traditional Turkish
Janissary bands, as this music was very popular at the time, with many other works also
resembling this sound.

The beginning of “Alla Turca”.

“Alla Turca” is split up into 6 parts as previously mentioned. The first part, ‘A’, is in A minor
and is characterised by its rising semiquaver pattern followed by a falling quaver pattern in
thirds. The B section consists of a new major tonality in thirds, followed by the same melody
in the original A minor. The C section modulates into A major and resembles a march,
accompanied by arpeggiated chords in the left hand. In the D section, a relentless
semiquaver melody in F# minor is played, with a brief modulation into A major, which is the
E section, followed quickly by a modified D section again. Finally, the coda is similar to the C
section, with an arpeggiated chord accompaniment and octaves in the right hand. There is a
brief section in the coda where the main melody in the coda is restated simply, with an
alberti bass accompaniment. This is followed by the strong, regular coda, finishing with
alternating A and C# octaves and then two fortissimo A major chords in both hands.

The last six bars of “Alla Turca”.

Differences
Bach’s “Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” and Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major” both exhibit
differences as they are written in two complete different time periods and by two very
different composers. Some differences that these two works have are, obviously the time
they were written and their composers. Other differences are their structures. Bach’s fugue
follows classic fugal structure and also has a prelude, whereas Mozart’s sonata has 3
different movements; a theme and variations, a minuet and trio, and a rondo.

Similarities
As these two pieces are written by different composers in different time periods, it is hard
to find similarities, however there still are some. For example, in Mozart’s Sonata’s first
movement, there is a theme and variations. This is similar to what is heard in Bach’s fugue,
which is a main subject then two counter-subjects which could be seen as variations.

In conclusion, as Bach’s “Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” and Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 11 in A
Major” are very different pieces, they do exhibit a lot of differences. However, some
similarities can be found upon close inspection. Both the similarities and differences in these
two pieces are demonstrated through the use of structure, pitch and duration.

Bibliography and Footnotes

1 http://www.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/wtc1.html

2
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KdkzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT52&lpg=PT52&dq=piano+so
nata+11+theme+siciliana&source=bl&ots=7UmMZQ_3r-
&sig=Hp9NdKxDwl7RJYX2apjpHQ_Qwn8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8ifSMn_PaAhUDfLwK
HQfcDesQ6AEIXDAF#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Piano-Sonata-No-11-in-A-Major-K-331
https://web3.newtown-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=9270