Praeludium E-moll BuxWV 142

This work consists of four parts, three of which are fugues.

The free sections of BuxWV 142 are modest in comparison with its fugues, exploring only two of the many stylistic possibilities encountered in the other praeludia.
The opening section offers an example of figural decoration of a basi­cally homophonic texture. As in virtually all of Buxtehude’s praeludia, it begins with an opening flourish before settling on the tonic chord.

The first fugue is a joyous piece, but Buxtehude shows himself at the height of his contrapuntal powers in the masterful second fugue of BuxWV 142. The countersubject in its first two expositions is a retrograde of the subject at the lower fifth, with the chromatic scale changed to a diatonic one.

A new countersubject in eighth notes appears with the third exposition, operating against the subject in both its direct form and in inversion. A stretto beginning at m. 75 alternates entrances of the subject with its inversion.

The third fugue, in contrast, is as contrapuntally lax as the second was strict, dissolving into concertato texture after two expositions. The shift in texture emphasizes the powerful dance rhythm of this final sec­tion.

(Various sources)