The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538, is an organ piece by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. Like the better-known

BWV 565 The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 565, is a piece of organ repertoire, organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The piece opens with a toccata section, follow ...

, BWV 538 also bears the title ''Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'', although it is often referred to by the nickname Dorian – a reference to the fact that the piece is written without a

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at ...

– a notation that leads one to assume the

Dorian mode Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mos ...

. However, the two pieces are quite different musically. Like the

Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562 The Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562 is a relatively short piece written for the organ by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach began the composition during his time in Weimar, and an unfinished fugue, probably by Bach, was added in his later life. The ...

, it is nearly monothematic. It opens with a motoric sixteenth-note motif that continues almost uninterrupted to the end of the piece, and includes unusually elaborate concertato effects. Bach even notates manual changes for the organist, an unusual practice in the day as well as in Bach's organ output. The

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

, also in D minor, is long and complex, and involves a rather archaic-sounding subject which prominently features syncopations and three upward leaps of a perfect fourth. The strict

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

development is only broken in the final four bars, when a few massive chords bring the piece to a close. The fugue of BWV 538 is very similar to the fugue of

BWV 540 The Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540, is an organ work written by Johann Sebastian Bach, potentially dating from the composer's time in Weimar, or in Leipzig. History No firm date can be established for the composition, and it has even been ...

. They both imply an

alla breve ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning th ...

time signature; they both use subjects with semibreves and syncopated minims, with a rhythm of constant quavers, rather than constant semi-quavers seen in most of Bach's fugues; they both use chromaticism, harmonic suspensions, and uninterrupted succession of subjects and answers. Bach worked in Weimar between 1708 and 1717, during which he composed most of his organ works including BWV 538.

External links

*
Free download of BWV 538
recorded by

James Kibbie James Kibbie (born March 13, 1949) is an American concert organist, recording artist and pedagogue. He is Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan. Biography Kibbie was born in 1949 in Vinton, Iowa, USA. He graduated from Davenport We ...

on the 1736 Erasmus Bielfeldt organ in St. Wilhadi, Stade, Germany * , (audio only) played by French organist

Nariné Simonian Narine Simonian (sometimes written only as Nariné, born 1965 in Gyumri, Armenia) is one of the most baroque French organists, as well as a pianist, musical director and producer of operas, born in Gyumri, Armenia. Nariné is also an organist, an ...

on St.-Pierre-Aux-Liens church organ constructed by Aloys Mooser in

Bulle Bulle (; frp, Bulo ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême. History Ancient times Bulle is first ...

, Switzerland. {{Authority control Fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions for organ

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

Compositions in D minor