Let's Talk About Fugues

In terms of musical moments, none excite me quite as much as a good fugue. Especially in the context of a large scale work (like a symphony, or an oratorio). In this post, I will be discussing some of my favorite instances of fugal writing, as well as some of the attempts which I have made at composing fugues.

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What is a fugue?

In terms of form, a fugue is actually a type of composition. Here is the Webster definition of a fugue:

a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.

A fugue consists of an exposition in which the subject is introduced by one voice in entries alternating between the tonic (subject) and dominant key (answer). Sometimes the composer might utilize the subdominant key rather than the dominant key for the answer. Everything within the fugue stems from the initial subject (and other subjects if it is a double fugue, or if it has a countersubject).

After all of the voices have entered, the exposition ends and we get a series of alternations between episodes of development, and middle entries where the subject enters again in different keys, and with different elements.

After these episodes and middle entries, we arrive at the final entries in the original key, and the fugue ends (or there is a coda which confirms the tonic key).

Individual Fugue

First I will discuss stand alone fugues which I like:

"Little Fugue" in g minor by J.S. Bach

What's not to love about Bach's "Little Fugue" in g minor? This is a classic example of a single 4-voice fugue, and it really shows Bach's skill at development of material. Fugues are incredibly difficult to write because everything has to stem from the subject material, and Bach does a masterful job in every single fugue. When you listen to this fugue, try to listen (and look in the music) for a connection between the different elements that Bach uses:

Fugue in A Major by Shostakovich

I have always found the fugue in A major by Shostakovich enjoyable to listen to. There are 2 reasons why I find this fugue so interesting: (1) it was written by a 20th century composer, and (2) it avoids dissonance (as the performer points out in the video). I don't know of many 20th century composers who would AVOID dissonance within a piece of music, and I also don't think the form was very popular in the 20th century (though I do know that Barber utilizes it in the 3rd movement of his piano sonata). This fugue is really well done! Go to 1:03 to skip the chatter :)

Fugue by Emerson Lake and Palmer

The last single fugue which I will discuss comes from a rock album. Keith Emerson is considered to be one of the greatest keyboard players ever to live. I recently discovered this video about his composition process, as well as his fugue. It truly is incredible that he was still inspired by a classical form, despite focusing in rock. Though I can't analyze it much (since there is no sheet music), here is a recording of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's fugue (I think there is a short introduction/prelude too):

Largescale fugal passages

Often, we will also use the term fugue to describe a fugal passage within a large scale work. I will now discuss some examples of fugues from larger scale works:

Domine Jesu Christe by Mozart

This example is not completely a fugue, but it contains a fugal section around 1 minute and 59 seconds in. I really do love this fugue, and it builds excitement for the whole work. One thing I notice is at least 2 distinct sections before the fugue in which Mozart has ideas enter in an exposition-like manner first in the choir, then in the soloists. Both times, the requirements for a fugal exposition are not met, and the material dies off as new material is introduced. It is almost like Mozart is trying to psych the listener out by saying:

"You know it's coming. You just don't know when!"

Almost like taunting a dog with its toy by faking throwing it before actually throwing it. With that being said, when we arrive at the fugal section (when the choir comes back after the soloists deceptive entries), it is a classic example of a well written fugue. Everything stems from the initial subject, and all of the material is masterfully developed. There is nothing like 4 well written independently moving lines that are all built from similar material! Here is Mozart's Domine Jesu Christe:

The Heavens are Telling by Haydn

This is one of the first choral fugal passages which I discovered. I discovered it when we sang it at the PMEA district 12 choral festival last year. The piece starts out rather homophonic, and slowly becomes more and more contrupuntal until the some of the material is turned into the subject of a fugue (around 2:40). The fugue builds the intensity of the piece for the final coda which excitingly confirms the cadence. This shows that Haydn too began to look towards more contrupuntal writing in his more mature works. In terms of things to share, this piece is unique because it is in English, so I thought I would share it here (so that you can see what it is like to understand what the choir is saying):

Symphony no. 9 Movement 4 by Beethoven

Within this movement, we get not one, but TWO DOUBLE FUGUES. In terms of development, I have never seen a movement as masterfully written as this one (except maybe the finale of the Jupiter symphony), but both double fugues stem from the Ode to Joy theme, and use it in one way or another. The first double fugue occurs at 11:36, and only consists of the orchestra. It lasts about a minute and a half. The second double fugue occurs at 17:19, and it includes the choir. This double fugue combines the Ode to Joy theme with the theme introduced in the section before this double fugue. Both of these fugues demonstrate masterful writing on Beethoven's part, and both have always excited me! Here is the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th:

Two Original Fugues

I will now discuss my two recent attempts at composing fugues.

The first attempt was for the graduation piece, and I formed a fugue subject out of some of the overture's main materials. In total, the fugue was about a minute long, and not very successful (imo). It is not strictly speaking long enough or disciplined enough to be a fugue, and is better described as a fugato. You can see my analysis of the fugue in the video:

The second attempt I made was for the King Arthur String quartet. I made the 4th movement a double fugue based on the Kyrie movement of the Mozart requiem. I would classify this movement as the most successful I have been in terms of fugal writing, but I would definitely say that I have a ways to go in terms of developing the material within a fugue such as this. If I had had more time for the movement, I would have tried to make it longer and more thorough in terms of development. I am proud of this movement regardless!

Conclusion

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