{"id":1050,"date":"2017-02-26T04:13:29","date_gmt":"2017-02-26T04:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/vccs-tcc-music-rford\/?post_type=chapter&p=1050"},"modified":"2020-04-11T21:51:25","modified_gmt":"2020-04-11T21:51:25","slug":"fugue","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/vccs-tcc-music-rford\/chapter\/fugue\/","title":{"raw":"Fugue","rendered":"Fugue"},"content":{"raw":"

Introduction<\/h3>\r\nThe English term fugue<\/i> originating in the sixteenth\u00a0century is derived from the French word fugue<\/i> or the Italian fuga<\/i>. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga<\/i>, which is itself related to both fugere<\/i> (\"to flee\") and fugare<\/i> (\"to chase\").\u00a0A\u00a0\u00a0fugato<\/i>\u00a0 is a passage in fugal style within another work that is not a fugue such as overture or sonata.\r\n\r\nThe fugue \u00a0became a challenge for composers to \u00a0demonstrate \u00a0their compositional expertise. \u00a0 Composers incorporated fugues into a variety of musical forms. George Frideric Handel included them in his oratorios. \u00a0Keyboard suites from this period often conclude with a fugal gigue. \u00a0(https:\/\/www.google.com\/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=french+overture&*\u00a0<\/span><\/em>)\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_967\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"225\"]\"The<\/a> The first page of the manuscript of the \"Ricercar a 6\" BWV 1079 by Johann Sebastian Bach.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nA fugue is in \u00a0three parts: an exposition<\/em>, a development<\/em>, and a recapitulation<\/em>\u00a0- \u00a0though not all fugues have a recapitulation. \u00a0The exposition contains the statement of the subject in all voices. It ends when all voices have stated the subject. The development follows. It \u00a0contains episodes which contain \u00a0no subject material alternating \u00a0with brief \u00a0statements of the subject. This is a freer section than the exposition. \u00a0The important component of the fugue is the subject. In most fugues \u00a0subjects are short themes. \u00a0As describe above \u00a0the subject occurs successively in each voice in the exposition. \u00a0The \u00a0subject is repeated \u00a0in each voice part in succession. \u00a0The exposition ends once the subject has occurred in all voices. \u00a0The development follows - consisting \u00a0of episodes containing \u00a0no subject material and \u00a0brief statements of the subject. The episodes represent \u00a0a connecting passage,\u00a0developed from previously heard material but without statement of the subject. Entries \u00a0of the subject are heard in alternation related keys in the development. The \"final entry\" of the subject, by which point the music has returned to the opening key, or tonic is often followed by closing material, the coda.\u00a0In this sense, a fugue is a style of composition, rather than a fixed structure.\r\n\r\nIn the Middle Ages, the fugue included \u00a0any works in canonic style - a melodic constantly repeated \u00a0in imitation throughout \u00a0the work. By the Renaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative works. Since the seventeenth\u00a0century, has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint described above. Thus, fugal writing became a complex form of counterpoint in the Baroque. \u00a0As many pieces were composed as stand-alone fugues It could also be considered a genre. \u00a0 The most important thing to remember is that with the fugue the subject is the main melodic idea and it is imitated throughout the composition.\r\n\r\nExposition<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe table below illustrates the structure of the fugue exposition:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Voice<\/strong><\/td>\r\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\r\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\r\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\r\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Soprano<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSubject<\/td>\r\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\r\nCounter subject 2<\/td>\r\nAnswer<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Alto<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\nAnswer<\/td>\r\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\r\nCounter subject 2<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Bass<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/td>\r\nSubject<\/td>\r\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n
Read \"Forms: Contrapuntal Composition Techniques: The Fugue\" here<\/a>.<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

Listen: Fugue: Subject and Answers<\/h3>\r\nListen to J. S.\u00a0Bach's, \"Little\" Fugue (G minor, BWV 578) below; the different colors represent the voices of the fugue. See if you can identify the subject and answers throughout the piece.<\/span>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/pVadl4ocX0M\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nRead\u00a0\"Forms: Contrapuntal Composition Techniques: After the Exposition\" here<\/a>.Listen: Fugue: Episodes, Development<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLISTEN: FUGUE: EPISODES, DEVELOPMENT\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/qR78Yjuourg\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/WuoxijdFKA0\r\n\r\n \r\n

J.S. Bach \u2018Gigue\u2019 Fugue G-Major BWV 577, Matthias Havinga, Organ\r\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\u00a0https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/vccs-tcc-mus121-1\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=330&action=edit<\/span>\r\n\r\nEven though fugues were being composed throughout the Baroque, Bach is considered to have no equal in the composition of fugues, so this page\u00a0is included in this section with him, rather than in the Instrumental Music in the Baroque section.\r\nJ.S.Bach, \"Gigue\" Fugue G-Major BWV 577, Matthias Havinga, organ.\u00a0<\/span>www.matthiashavinga.com<\/span>\r\n\r\nBaroque Era\r\n<\/strong>Bach's most famous fugues are those for the harpsichord in <\/span>The Well-Tempered Clavier<\/i>, which many composers and theorists look at as the greatest model of fugue.\u00a0<\/span>The Well-Tempered Clavier<\/i> comprises two volumes written in different times of Bach's life, each comprising 24 prelude and fugue pairs, one for each major and minor key. Bach is also known for his organ fugues, which are usually preceded by a prelude or\u00a0toccata. The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, is a collection of fugues (and four canons) on a single theme that is gradually transformed as the cycle progresses. Bach also wrote smaller single fugues, and put fugal sections or movements into many of his more general works.<\/span>\r\n<\/strong>\r\n\r\nView these electronic recording renditions of two of\u00a0 Bach's\u00a0 Fugues and view\u00a0 with the animation of the individual voices.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/pVadl4ocX0M\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/4WhPUqpaRp4\r\n\r\nJ. S. Bach's influence extended forward through his son C.P.E. Bach and through the theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718\u20131795) whoseAbhandlung von der Fuge<\/i> (\"Treatise on the fugue,\" 1753) was largely based on J. S. Bach's work.","rendered":"

Introduction<\/h3>\n

The English term fugue<\/i> originating in the sixteenth\u00a0century is derived from the French word fugue<\/i> or the Italian fuga<\/i>. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga<\/i>, which is itself related to both fugere<\/i> (“to flee”) and fugare<\/i> (“to chase”).\u00a0A\u00a0\u00a0fugato<\/i>\u00a0 is a passage in fugal style within another work that is not a fugue such as overture or sonata.<\/p>\n

The fugue \u00a0became a challenge for composers to \u00a0demonstrate \u00a0their compositional expertise. \u00a0 Composers incorporated fugues into a variety of musical forms. George Frideric Handel included them in his oratorios. \u00a0Keyboard suites from this period often conclude with a fugal gigue. \u00a0(https:\/\/www.google.com\/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=french+overture&*\u00a0<\/span><\/em>)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The first page of the manuscript of the “Ricercar a 6” BWV 1079 by Johann Sebastian Bach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A fugue is in \u00a0three parts: an exposition<\/em>, a development<\/em>, and a recapitulation<\/em>\u00a0– \u00a0though not all fugues have a recapitulation. \u00a0The exposition contains the statement of the subject in all voices. It ends when all voices have stated the subject. The development follows. It \u00a0contains episodes which contain \u00a0no subject material alternating \u00a0with brief \u00a0statements of the subject. This is a freer section than the exposition. \u00a0The important component of the fugue is the subject. In most fugues \u00a0subjects are short themes. \u00a0As describe above \u00a0the subject occurs successively in each voice in the exposition. \u00a0The \u00a0subject is repeated \u00a0in each voice part in succession. \u00a0The exposition ends once the subject has occurred in all voices. \u00a0The development follows – consisting \u00a0of episodes containing \u00a0no subject material and \u00a0brief statements of the subject. The episodes represent \u00a0a connecting passage,\u00a0developed from previously heard material but without statement of the subject. Entries \u00a0of the subject are heard in alternation related keys in the development. The “final entry” of the subject, by which point the music has returned to the opening key, or tonic is often followed by closing material, the coda.\u00a0In this sense, a fugue is a style of composition, rather than a fixed structure.<\/p>\n

In the Middle Ages, the fugue included \u00a0any works in canonic style – a melodic constantly repeated \u00a0in imitation throughout \u00a0the work. By the Renaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative works. Since the seventeenth\u00a0century, has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint described above. Thus, fugal writing became a complex form of counterpoint in the Baroque. \u00a0As many pieces were composed as stand-alone fugues It could also be considered a genre. \u00a0 The most important thing to remember is that with the fugue the subject is the main melodic idea and it is imitated throughout the composition.<\/p>\n

Exposition<\/strong><\/p>\n

The table below illustrates the structure of the fugue exposition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Voice<\/strong><\/td>\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\nThemes played<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Soprano<\/strong><\/td>\nSubject<\/td>\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\nCounter subject 2<\/td>\nAnswer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alto<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nAnswer<\/td>\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\nCounter subject 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bass<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSubject<\/td>\nCounter subject 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Read “Forms: Contrapuntal Composition Techniques: The Fugue” here<\/a>.<\/div>\n
\n

Listen: Fugue: Subject and Answers<\/h3>\n

Listen to J. S.\u00a0Bach’s, “Little” Fugue (G minor, BWV 578) below; the different colors represent the voices of the fugue. See if you can identify the subject and answers throughout the piece.<\/span><\/p>\n