This composition is still listed in many works lists -- old ones, albeit -- as the doing of J.S. Bach. Almost all musicologists today, however, recognize it as at least of spurious provenance, and the majority of them assign the work to composer and Bach contemporary Johann David Heinichen(1683-1729), a man well-known in his lifetime but who faded to total obscurity until his rediscovery in the 1990s by conductor and musicologist Reinhard Goebel. The work was probably originally attributed to Bach because it contains the musical representation of his name (B flat, A, C, B natural) near the end of the piece, a motif that appears in some Bach pieces. Other composers also used it to pay homage to Bach.
The title of the work in English is usually translated as "Little harmonic labyrinth." Lasting three minutes or so, the piece is in three sections: Introitus, Centrum, and Exitus, tempo Andante. It opens with a dramatic trill, then, while initially retaining the propulsive trill in the background, gradually moves from a festive mood to a hymn-like solemnity. The Centrum section is livelier and features interesting contrapuntal activity. The final section, the Exitus, makes up about half the length of the work. It initially harkens back to the Introitus in mood, but builds to a resoundingly triumphant ending, with sonorities moving higher and higher on the registers, as if reaching to the heavens.
