THE FUGUE:

I. WHAT IS A FUGUE?
Composition based in just one tempo; written in polyphonic style, with
a determinate number of real parts or voices. The structure has a
formal plan and it consists on the theme repetition and its imitation
with free fragments between the repetitions. The precedents of the
fugue are: Tiento, Canona, !icercare, Capricho, "antas#a,
$otete and Canon.
II. WHICH KIND OF FORM DOES IT HAVE?
% fugue generally consists on a series of e&positions and
developments with no '&ed number of either. %t its simplest, a fugue
might consist of one e&position followed by optional development. %
more comple& fugue might follow the e&position with a series of
developments, or another e&position followed by one or more
developments. "ugues that are tonally centred will e&pose the subject
without venturing out of an initial tonic(dominant constellation.
III. WICH ELEMENTS CAN WE FOUND OUT IN IT?
A. Main Idea of the F!e and Ho" It I# Stated
1. S$%e&t' %lso called Theme, $otive, )u&, *u#a,
%ntecedent+etc. ,t-s the musical idea in which the fugue
is based. ,t begins with the note , or . and it ends with the
note , or . or with its respective thirds. The fugue begins
with the subject and it used to appear alone being
repeated fre/uently in di0erent forms or not. The subject
has two parts: the 1head1 is calculated to attract attention
either by unusual rhythmic or intervallic emphasis, while
the 1tail1 is typically more conjunct, rhythmically uniform,
and sometimes it modulates. The head and(or tail itself
may employ variation of one or two smaller motives or
'gures...each comprised of a characteristic rhythm and(or
interval. ,f the subject contains a modulation itself it will
always be in the . tone and the fugue will be called
TONAL FUGUE; if the subject does not modulate then it
will be called a REAL FUGUE.
2. An#"e(' %lso called Conse/uent, Comes+etc. ,t is
the imitation which immediately follows the 'rst
statement of the subject: in a di0erent voice and usually
'fth higher or fourth lower. %nswers are a subclass of
subjects which bear certain interval characteristics in
relationship to the subject as it was originally stated.
2very subject and answer entrance represents a di0erent
tonality. The answer it will be always in the dominant tone
of the subject. There are two types of answer:
o Tona) An#"e(' %n answer that typically 3though
not always4 stays in the same 5ey as the subject. To
do this it is necessary for the intervals of the subject
to change somewhat. "or this reason some notes it
will be a 'fth higher and others a fourth higher. The
di0erences will be called $6T%T,789.
o Rea) An#"e(' %n answer that is a transposition of
the subject to another 5ey, usually the dominant. ,t
is the e&actly imitation of intervals of the subject,
with no changes.
3. Conte(#$%e&t' 9ubstantive 'gure that sometimes
recurs immediately following the subject or answer 3in the
same voice4. Countersubjects serve as counterpoint to
subjects 3or answers4 sounding simultaneously in a
di0erent voice. 8ot every fugue will have a
countersubject. 9ome fugues may have more than one
countersubject.
4. Fa)#e S$%e&t' 9ome people use the term 1false subject1
to describe an entry of the subject 3or answer4 that begins
but it never 'nishes 3not complete entrance4. This term
should be reserved for instances where the subject
appears to enter, brea5s o0, then follows immediately
with a complete statement. $ost other instances of
incomplete subjects are developmental and should be
termed 1imitation.1
5. Ent(an&e#' Consecutive interventions of the subject and
the answer during the fugue.
6. Di*e(ti+enti o( E,i#ode' "ree fragments that use to
appear between the entrances. The thematic material of
this divertimenti use to be a derivation of the subject, the
answer and the countersubject. "or instance: the tail of
the original form is now transformed because in inverted,
because of the opposite movement, retrograde+many
possibilities.
IV. STRUCTURE- FORM OF THE FUGUE'
1. E.,o#ition' :ortion3s4 of the fugue consisting of
subject3s4 with at least one answer, and possibly
countersubject3s4. To /ualify as an e&position, the subject
3or answer4 must appear in all voices and answers must
be in the proper relationship 3tonal or real4 to subjects.
The e&position normally concludes immediately after the
subject 3or answer4 appears in the last voice. 2&positions
may defer the cadence until after a codetta.
)i0erentiation between e&position subtypes is based
upon the order in which voices enter 3as compared to the
'rst e&position4 and whether or not the subject has
changed.
o Re/E.,o#ition' %n e&position, following the
initial e&position, in which the voices enter in
the same order as the 'rst e&position.
o Conte(/e.,o#ition' %n e&position following
the initial e&position in which the voices enter
in a di0erent order than they did in the 'rst
e&position, or the subject of the new
e&position is a contrapuntal variation of the
original.
o Do$)e E.,o#ition' 2&position utiliing a
brand new subject 3i.e. not contrapuntally
derived from the 'rst4. ,f the new subject is
uni/ue, then the fugue is a double fugue 3in
the case of three subjects, triple fugue4.
2. De*e)o,+enta) E,i#ode' 9ection in which motives from
the e&position are treated in se/uence, modulation,
contrary motion, double counterpoint, stretto,
augmentation(diminution, pedal, etc. 2pisodes are
generally terminated by a cadence and may follow one
after the other. )evelopmental episodes characteristically
begin by departing from the subject, to fragment or vary
it in some way, but gradually building up to a restatement
of the subject in at least one voice. These statements of
the subject are typically not in the tonic(dominant
relationship of the e&position and are called 1middle
entries1 3or in *erman Durchfhrung4. 2pisodes typically
do not enunciate the subject in all voices.
3. Coda o( Codetta' Concluding segment of a section
3codetta4 or of the entire fugue 3coda4. Codas and
codettas often sound as if they are something added after
the structural end of the section or wor5. The function of
codettas is often modulatory 3to return the tonality to the
5ey of the subject after an answer at the dominant4. 8ot
all the fugues have these.
V. COM0OSITIONAL TECHNI1UES OF THE FUGE'
A. Tona) Va(iation
1. Mod)ation' !epetition of a motive in another 5ey. ;ach
typically arranges his fugues around closely related 5eys
3major and minor 5eys immediately adjacent to each
other on the circle of 'fths4.
2. Mtation 2a)#o &a))ed 3&han!e of +ode34' 9tatement
of the subject or answer 3or any other primary material4 in
the opposing mode. % subject 'rst stated in minor and
later stated in major is said to have 1mutated.1
5. Cont(a,nta) Va(iation
<. St(etto' 2ntry of a motive in a second voice before the
'rst voice has 'nished its statement. $otive can mean
subject, answer, countersubject, or any other substantive
melodic(rhythmic entity in imitation. There are three types
of stretto; )irect 9tretto: before the subject ends, it begins
the answer; ,nverted 9tretto: before the answer ends, it
begins the subject; "ree 9tretto: 9uperposition: subject =
subject or answer = answer.
>. A!+entation-Di+intion' 9tatement of a motive in
rhythmic durations that are proportionately doubled or
halved.
?. 0eda) 0oint' 9uspension of one pitch, often the bass, in
such a manner that it is alternately consonant then
dissonant with the chord progression. "ugues often
conclude with episodes of pedal point.
@. Ret(o!(ade' 3rare4 9tatement of the motiveAs pitches in
reverse order. Bi5e a mirror.
C. Me)odi& In*e(#ion' 3Contrary $otion4 9tatement of a
motive where interval directions have been made to move
in the opposite direction of the original motive. ,f the
/uality of the intervals is preserved the motion is said to
be the 1mirror inversion.1
D. Se6en&e' !epetition of a motive at another pitch level,
usually up or down a step. 2ach repetition is called a
1leg.1 9e/uences in which each leg itself contains a
se/uential pattern are said to be nested. ;achAs
se/uences tend to be of this latter variety, with the
overall se/uence comprised of two or three legs, each leg
comprised of two subsidiary units. "or e&ample: study the
se/uences in the mirror fugues of Art of Fugue. 9e/uential
episodes seldom appear in fugal e&positions but are
fre/uent accouterments to developments.
E. Cont(a,nta) In*e(#ion' 3)ouble(Triple Counterpoint4
!eappearance of a pair of voices 3double ctpt.4 or trio of
voices 3triple ctpt.4 in which registers have been
reassigned in such a way that the voices have crossed
and the interval relationship between voices is
fundamentally altered.