Biamonti 619 – Two Fugato Passages, Probably Copied, 1815

These passages appear on page 39 of the Scheide Sketchbook, as noted by Nottebohm in Volume II, page 347, though no musical examples are cited. The first fugato occupies lines one to five and is written in five voices, seemingly constructed over a basso continuo. Clefs are mostly absent, with the exception of a tenor clef on line three; the remaining clefs have been tentatively identified according to the typical ascending order from bass to soprano. The key signature is missing, but from the accidentals and the “6” indication on the bass line, the tonality is presumed to be B minor.

The second fugato, spanning lines six to eight, is somewhat easier to interpret. It is written across three staves, although the top staff is left blank. As with the first fugato, no key signature is provided, but the passage suggests D major. It appears to be constructed over a basso continuo, implied by two half notes between the second and third measures. In the third measure, the resolution of the first voice’s phrase is absent, replaced by what seems to be an erased note, possibly an F. The second voice, only lightly sketched, modulates to E, either major or minor, with a dominant seventh in third inversion (2/4/6). There is no trace of a third voice.