fugue

The name B-A-C-H corresponds to the notes B-flat, A, C, B-natural. This motif appears in a number of works of J.S. Bach (1685-1750), most notably as the final fugue subject of the unfinished Contrapunctus 14 in The Art of Fugue. The motif was also used by Johann Christian Bach, as well as by later composers writing in homage to J.S. Bach, including Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Arvo Pärt, and in the 21st century by Pamela Decker. In this recording, the BACH motif is played twice--first by itself, then as the beginning of a fugue by Johann Christian Bach.