Of the rich treasure of preludes and fugues that he left, the great Leipzig pieces, written in the full maturity of his power, deserve special mention. They are the ones in C minor, G minor, A minor, E minor, and B minor--all ‘stupendous creations,’ as Spitta designates them. The E minor Prelude and Fugue is called a ‘symphony’ by Spitta. The Fugue, with its ‘wedge’ theme, is the longest of Bach’s fugues--231 measures--but the interest never flags for a moment. That Bach not only ‘violated’ rules but made his own, is shown by the fact that he introduces into his fugue a _da capo_--from measure 172 repeating the beginning part. The lofty B minor Prelude and Fugue is replete with glowing beauties. Of the highest type of perfection and full of expressive eloquence is the E-flat major Prelude and Fugue. The Fugue, which is sometimes called ‘the St. Anne Fugue’ from the chance resemblance of its subject to the first line of an English hymn-tune of that name, is built on the model of the old Italian threefold fugue, in the last sections of which the subjects are combined and interwoven with consummate skill. The Fantasia in G minor is one of the most majestic works in the entire literature of music. The Fugue associated with it is not as great as the Fantasia, but is an exceedingly effective concert piece and a masterful composition. It is a favorite not only with organists but with all musicians, and has been transcribed for pianoforte by Liszt and for orchestra by Abert. Its popularity with the general public is due not a little to the unusually pleasing character of the subject itself, which possesses all the jollity and grace of a dance-theme. Bach’s fugue-subjects (and fugue-subjects in general) are seldom interesting or pleasing as individual melodies. Their value is almost wholly architectonic. The master architect will rear a structure of significant beauty and imposing grandeur out of a mass of individually uninteresting and meaningless brick and stone. In much the same way, the composer views his fugue-subject mainly as a constructional item. His interest is centred on the structure itself and the process of construction. Notwithstanding this objective, impersonal point of view, it is undeniably true that those fugues that have made the deepest popular impression are constructed on subjects that are in themselves melodically interesting, such as this G minor Fugue, the C minor Fugue from the ‘Well-tempered Clavichord,’ and the C minor Fugue from Mendelssohn’s Three Preludes and Fugues for organ.