Cat fugue. Fugue in G minor (K. 30, L. 499) by Domenico Scarlatti

The Cat Fugue: Inspired By A Cat Walk Scarlatti&cat Pulcinella “composed” this fugue subject by walking across Scarlatti&harpsichord keyboard This strikingly unusual motif on which the fugue is built perhaps is most easily explained by the legend of Pulcinella, Domenico&cat, randomly walking across his keyboard from left to right. Dubbed "The Cat&Fugue" by Muzio Clementi. The Fugue in G minor (K. 30, L. 499) by Domenico Scarlatti is a one-movement harpsichord sonata popularly known as the Cat fugue or Cat&fugue (in Italian: Fuga del gatto). The nickname, which was never used by the composer himself but was introduced only early in the 19th century, originates from a story about how Scarlatti came up with the strikingly unusual motif on which the fugue is built. Legend has it that Scarlatti had a pet cat called Pulcinella, who was described by the composer as prone to 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. There are two scores with trackers. One in modern notation. The second, the original manuscript.