Better Late Than Never: Playing Bach’s “Little” Fugue (BWV 578)

Better Late Than Never: Playing Bach’s “Little” Fugue (BWV 578)

Introduction

Some music pieces aren’t instant favourites, yet they stay with you for a lifetime. Bach’s Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 — known as the “Little” Fugue — has followed me for decades. Not always at the piano, but through recordings, memories, and unexpected performances. Finally, I decided to sit down and give it the attention it deserved.

First Encounter: A CD Habit That Became a Ritual

My connection with this piece started during my very first job. At the time, I didn’t really know what I was doing in the office, and the days felt painfully long. So I gave myself a small ritual: every month I would buy a new CD from the shop in the mall downstairs. It became a way to break the monotony and give myself something fresh to listen to.

One of those CDs was an album of Bach’s organ works. The grandeur of the organ sound was overwhelming and mesmerising, and The Little Fugue became part of my daily soundtrack. Later, it turned into one of my most-played discs during years of driving. Some friends and family found the organ sound too intrusive, and I often had to skip tracks when they were in the car. But for me, it was steady company — not my greatest love, but like a familiar friend always present in the background.

Brio Days: From Serious to Playful

Years later, during my time with Brio — a small group of alumni from the Hong Kong Children’s Choir — the fugue returned in an unexpected form. We performed a quirky three-part mixed choir arrangement, with me at the piano. To make it even more fun, we added light choreography. The lyrics were about catching a cold, which feels awkward to recall in a post-COVID world, but at the time, it was pure humour. Serious Bach became playful Bach, and another memory attached itself to the piece.

👉 Here’s a version of that adaptation (without choreography).

Returning to the Piano: Structure and Freedom

In recent years, when I returned to piano more seriously, Bach became a regular part of my practice. His fugues sharpen technique, calm the mind, and deepen musical understanding. The Little Fugue sits at the right balance for me: not too easy to feel trivial, not so difficult that it feels unreachable.

Playing a fugue is like meditation. Each voice has its own path, but they must align. It demands focus, yet creates calm. Working on this piece also reflected something about myself: I enjoy system and structure, but I resist rigidity. I value uniqueness, but not from thin air. Bach gives me exactly that space — the freedom to say something personal in a universal language.

Better Late Than Never

After years of circling around it, I finally recorded my own version of Bach’s Little Fugue. Technology lets us preserve progress, but persistence and patience are the real lessons here.

For me, this piece is both an old friend and a reminder that in music — as in life — it’s always better late than never.

🎶 Full performance: https://youtu.be/HCqupd5nYLM