How did the rediscovery of Bach’s music influence 19th-century fugue writing?

The rediscovery of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in the 19th century served as a major catalyst for the revival and continued development of fugue writing. While the fugue had declined in popularity by the mid-18th century, the 19th-century "Bach revival"—most notably inaugurated by Felix Mendelssohn’s 1829 performance of the St. Matthew Passion—reintroduced composers to the technical mastery and contrapuntal complexity of Bach’s masterworks.123

This influence manifested in several ways:

• Direct Inspiration: Composers such as Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, César Franck, and Johannes Brahms incorporated notable fugal passages into their own works, including organ sonatas, piano pieces, and large-scale choral compositions.14
• Pedagogical Standardization: The study of Bach’s techniques helped establish the fugue d’école ("school fugue"), a strictly regulated pedagogical style taught at institutions like the Paris Conservatory.1
• Stylistic Integration: Later 19th-century composers, including Giuseppe Verdi and Gustav Mahler, utilized fugal techniques to add structural depth and contrapuntal skill to their symphonic and operatic works.1

Ultimately, the exhumation of Bach’s music provided a model of "hallowed tradition" that allowed the fugue to remain a vital, albeit evolving, component of Western musical composition throughout the Romantic era.13