Chapter 9 Baroque Instrumental Music Fugue

Key Terms Fugue Fugue subject Expositions Subject entries Episodes Contrapunctus Free and learned fugues Fugato Fugal devices Countersubject Stretto Augmentation Diminution Inversion

Fugue The most significant, characteristic new form of Baroque music Rooted in systematic use of imitative polyphony Fugue = polyphonic composition built on a single principal theme (the subject) For two or more instrumental lines (voices) Latin fuga = running away Fugal voices imitatively “chase” each other

Fugal Exposition (1) First section of a fugue All voices (instrumental lines) take turns presenting the subject in orderly fashion Voices create cumulative effect—

Fugal Exposition (2) 1st voice states subject all by itself Then 2nd voice states subject as 1st voice continues with new material Then 3rd voice states subject as 1st & 2nd voices continue with new material, etc. Exposition ends when all voices state subject

Episodes and Subject Entries (1) After the Exposition, subject enters at intervals separated by episodes These later subject entries— May occur in any voice Often come in different keys

Episodes and Subject Entries (2) Episodes contrast with subject entries They may be based on motives from subject They often use sequences to modulate Final subject entry is stated in tonic key

Subject Entries vs. Episodes Subject entries— Fixed–must always be recognizable as the subject Stable–remain in one key throughout each statement May occur in other keys in middle of fugue Episodes— Free–may explore any motives from subject in any order Unstable–modulate from from one key to another Connect an entry in one key with another in a new key

Fugues, Free and Learned Fugue can have multiple meanings Can refer to fugue as genre (a fugue) Uses exposition, subject entries, & episodes Can refer to fugue as style or procedure Fugue as imitative section in a larger work A work in fugal style Free fugues Works using fugal style or procedures Learned fugues Full-scale, independent fugues

Free Fugue Often refers to fugal sections in a larger work belonging to another genre For example, perhaps in a a canzona, French overture, or chorus Fugal section often called a fugato Uses techniques of fugue, not its form Shorter than full-scale fugue Sometimes just the exposition May slip from polyphony (typical fugal texture) to homophony and back

Learned Fugue Full-scale, independent fugue Fugue as genre Uses the features of fugal form–exposition, subject entries, episodes Often written more for study & teaching than for public performance Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier or Art of Fugue Shows off composer’s contrapuntal skill Uses sophisticated (learned) fugal devices

Fugal Devices Countersubject A melody designed to accompany the subject throughout the fugue Stretto Overlapping entrances–when a subject entry jumps in before the previous one is done Augmentation & diminution Making all note values longer or shorter Inversion Turning the subject upside down

Bach, The Art of Fugue Written at the end of Bach’s life Unfinished at the time of his death A testament to his astonishing fugal skill Collection of twenty canons & fugues All on the same subject! Most use all fugal devices listed above Unfinished final fugue is Bach’s “epitaph” Theme No. 4 spells B-A-C-H In German music B = B-flat & H = B-natural

Bach, Contrapunctus 4 (1) Fugue in four voices Voices enter from high to low in exposition

Bach, Contrapunctus 4 (2) Lengthy episodes based on subject’s final motive & a “cuckoo” figure

Bach, Contrapunctus 4 (3) Later subject entries clustered together Almost like secondary expositions Voices often enter in different order Fugal devices used–stretto near the end At times uses expanded version of subject

Conclusions Exposition the most characteristic part Easy to follow owing to cumulative nature Harder to follow later entries & episodes Continuous polyphonic flow with subtle contrasts, not sharp ones Good learned fugues build episodes around motives from the subject Systematic treatment of subject typical of Baroque compositional control Fugue the most “scientific” Baroque genre