D minor, 4/4 time.

Written as a fugue, a characteristic feature of the subject's 'inventio' (invention/conception) is the use of tied suspensions. Beyond its use as the subject, the suspension is also employed motivically in sequential progressions, dominating the entire piece.

At the beginning, the upper voice presents the subject in D minor, and from the second measure, the middle voice responds in the dominant key. This is the technique of 'stretto,' where entries overlap before the preceding voice's subject concludes. From measure 13 in the latter half, all voices—upper, middle, and lower—present the subject in stretto.

Combined in the middle voice in measures 12-13 and the upper voice in measures 22-23 is a descending chromatic motif. This is a figure known as 'passus duriusculus,' frequently used to express sorrow, and it imparts a distinctive character to the piece.