Fantasia pro Organo a 5 Vocem (= Fantasia c-Moll, BWV 562)

The date of composition of Johann Sebastian Bach's Fantasia pro Organo a 5 Vocem com pedali obligati, BWV 562, has not yet been fully clarified. It is clear from the surviving autograph that the Fantasia was to be supplemented by a five-part fugue in 6/4 time, but this breaks off after a few bars. While this fugue fragment probably dates from the last years of Bach's life, the Fantasia seems to have been composed earlier - possibly even during Bach's Weimar period.
One reason for this is that the fantasia has a number of references to French organ music, in particular to the work of Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703), whose Livre d'orgue (1699) Bach copied in his own hand during his Weimar years: The main theme bears a strong resemblance to the soggetto of the four-part manualiter fugue from Grigny's Gloria versettes, the five-part texture of the fantasia is reminiscent of Grigny's Fugue à 5 and the abundance of ornaments is also undoubtedly inspired by French organ music.
In fact, Bach's fantasy is strongly contrapuntal: The one-bar soggetto constantly wanders imitatively through the parts, so that it is almost omnipresent. Nevertheless, the Fantasia does not follow the structure of a fugue: the pedal, for example, plays a special role because it structures the piece with long organ points on C, E flat F and C again and only rarely presents the soggetto; unlike Grigny, Bach probably expects a 16' base here. And shortly before the end, the descant rises above one of these pedal points to form an expressive recitative-like outburst, which is only accompanied by arpeggiated chords.
This piece impresses me with its highly expressive gesture: the soggetto rises to a plaintive sixth, only to descend in a series of sighs; within the five-part movement, it is repeatedly illuminated in different harmonies, chromatic bass progressions and dissonances intensify the painful affect, so that for me the piece represents a poignant piece of mourning or passion music.