The original name of this poem is Death Tango, but after the Romanian translation was published, Celan changed it to Death Fugue. It reminds people of one of Bach's important masterpieces in his later years, The Art of Fugue. The word fugue comes from Latin fuga (flight of fantasy), which is a polyphonic music developed in the Middle Ages and perfected in Bach's hands. The fugue is based on the precise counterpoint as mathematics, and its presentation or theme is always interrupted by the "interlude" (called duality) developed by imitating presentation. The presentation part is often very short, singing and echoing with other dialogues and going back and forth.
It is said that Bach's fugue (Death is a Master from Germany) is often heard in Commander Auschwitz's residence. 1944, Soviet writer simonov described the daily life in Nazi concentration camps in reportage: "Many loudspeakers played deafening foxtrot and tango. From morning till night, all the time. "