Cat fugue
Encyclopedia
Fugue in G minor by Domenico Scarlatti
is a one-movement harpsichord
sonata
popularly known as the Cat fugue or Cat's fugue.
on which the fugue
is built. Legend has it that Scarlatti had a pet cat called Pulcinella, who was described by the composer to enjoy walking across the keyboard, always curious about its sounds.
On one occasion, according to the story, Scarlatti wrote down a phrase from one of these "improvisation sessions", and used it as a lead motif in a fugue:
The nickname was used in concert programmes in the 19th Century (see Performances section below), and was also used by publishers including Clementi, Czerny, and Longo.
in 1739. Handel
, famous for his reuse of his own music and 'borrowings' from the work of others, wrote his Grand Concertos Op. 6 between late September and late October 1739 and the strange descending intervals of the second movement of No. 3 are reminiscent of Scarlatti's piece. Early 19th century theorist
and composer Anton Reicha
knew the work and wrote a fugue on the same subject for his 36 Fugues
of 1803.
— who had been introduced to the piece by the Roman collector of manuscripts Abbé Santini — included it in his programmes in Berlin in the early 1840s; Ignaz Moscheles
also performed it; both programmed it under the title Cat's fugue.
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
is a one-movement harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
popularly known as the Cat fugue or Cat's fugue.
History of the nickname
The nickname, which was not introduced until early in the 19th century (and thus was never used by the composer himself), originates from a story about how Scarlatti came up with the strikingly unusual motifMotif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
on which the fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
is built. Legend has it that Scarlatti had a pet cat called Pulcinella, who was described by the composer to enjoy walking across the keyboard, always curious about its sounds.
On one occasion, according to the story, Scarlatti wrote down a phrase from one of these "improvisation sessions", and used it as a lead motif in a fugue:
The nickname was used in concert programmes in the 19th Century (see Performances section below), and was also used by publishers including Clementi, Czerny, and Longo.
Influence
Kk. 30 was published in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1739. Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, famous for his reuse of his own music and 'borrowings' from the work of others, wrote his Grand Concertos Op. 6 between late September and late October 1739 and the strange descending intervals of the second movement of No. 3 are reminiscent of Scarlatti's piece. Early 19th century theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and composer Anton Reicha
Anton Reicha
Anton Reicha was a Czech-born, later naturalized French composer. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, Reicha is now best remembered for his substantial early contribution to the wind quintet literature and his role as a teacher – his pupils included Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz...
knew the work and wrote a fugue on the same subject for his 36 Fugues
36 Fugues (Reicha)
36 Fugues, sometimes assigned opus number 36, is a cycle of fugues for piano composed by Anton Reicha. It was first published by the composer in 1803 and served as an illustration of a nouveau système Reicha invented for fugue composition...
of 1803.
Performances
Kk. 30 has been a popular piece. Franz LisztFranz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
— who had been introduced to the piece by the Roman collector of manuscripts Abbé Santini — included it in his programmes in Berlin in the early 1840s; Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
also performed it; both programmed it under the title Cat's fugue.