# In regards to the G minor Bach Violin Sonata



## Schoenberg (Oct 15, 2018)

After listening to the fugue of the G minor Bach Violin sonata, it struck me as being quite odd that he had chosen to end the fugue with a G minor chord, instead of a G major chord which is to be expected of Bach's usual style of ending minor fugues with a major chord.

What was Bach's reason for not ending the piece with a G major chord?
Was it perhaps to lead on to the next movement, not having a formal end, in a way similar to the C major Bach Violin sonata fugue?
Or perhaps was in some relation to the fact that the fugue uses the dorian form of the key signature with one flat instead of the standard minor two flats?


----------



## Euler (Dec 3, 2017)

By the 18th century it was fine to cadence on the minor third, but Bach liked the Picardy for its effect. Over time he used it less often, as you hear in the huge difference between WTC book I and book II. Genre played a part too, his secular music more likely to stay in the minor than his chorales.

In the 1st solo violin sonata, the g minor chord is a kind of grounding motto across the whole piece. The adagio starts and ends with g minor chords, and the presto closes with g minor. It's a mood thing. The key signature is just an anachronism -- all the movements are written with the single flat.

I'm afraid I've never thought about this piece very deeply; hopefully someone will give you a better answer


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I thought Euler's answer was pretty good. I was just going to suggest that maybe Bach made a mistake! Could that be even possible?


----------

