JAVS Spring 2025

However, in m. 16, I use a four-note chord for the first time in the movement since the harmony was very special. Furthermore, I remove almost the whole top line in m. 17. Even though it is contrapuntally interesting, I emphasize the subject in the bottom line. Both fugues from BWV 1001 and 1011 include very little, if any, bass line in the presence of consecutive sixteenth notes. My initial intention to transcribe the B section was the same as Bach’s: involve the bass as little as possible unless required for harmonic completion.

However, the whole B section is more than twice as long as the A section, therefore, I fill the other voices to avoid a sparse texture for too long. Sometimes, it is impossible to contain all voices, particularly when they move in highly independent motion. For example, mm. 80-81 and 102-103 include three different rhythmic patterns in each voice. To preserve the texture as close as possible to the original, I omit the bass, using implied polyphony to give an elusive chain of suspension in the top voices (See Example 16).

Example 16. BWV 997. Fuga. mm. 79-81 and 100-105.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 41, No. 1, Spring 2025

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