Fughetta

What it means

The fughetta is a small, short fugue. The Italian diminutive points to its more concise extent: it usually comprises only the exposition, in which the theme moves through all voices, and a few episodes.

Musical use

Fughettas often stand as short movements within larger works or in teaching and domestic music. They show the basic features of the fugue in a manageable framework and are often lighter in tone. A well-known example is the 24th of the Diabelli Variations by Ludwig van Beethoven, which bears the title “Fughetta.”

The fughetta should be distinguished from the extended fugue, which works developments, stretti, and often several subjects, and from the invention, which is worked more freely. It differs from a canon in that after the exposition the voices no longer have to imitate strictly.

Performance practice

Play the fughetta with clear articulation of the theme so that every entry stays recognisable, and with a lighter touch than in a large fugue. Since the piece is short, shape the climax compactly and the close calmly and clearly.