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Fugue

A fugue is a type of contrapuntal musical composition with two or more voices that imitate a short melody, called the subject, which is introduced at the beginning and recurs throughout the piece. A fugue typically has three sections: an exposition introducing the subject, a development section, and a recapitulation returning to the original key. The form evolved in the 17th century from earlier imitative styles like ricercars and canons. Famous fugue composers like Bach shaped their works after earlier masters and established the fugue as the dominant contrapuntal form through the Baroque period.

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81 views1 page

Fugue

A fugue is a type of contrapuntal musical composition with two or more voices that imitate a short melody, called the subject, which is introduced at the beginning and recurs throughout the piece. A fugue typically has three sections: an exposition introducing the subject, a development section, and a recapitulation returning to the original key. The form evolved in the 17th century from earlier imitative styles like ricercars and canons. Famous fugue composers like Bach shaped their works after earlier masters and established the fugue as the dominant contrapuntal form through the Baroque period.

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Theresia Listya Marmita
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Fugue In music, a fugue (pron.

: /fju/ FEWG) is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and recurs frequently in the course of the composition. he !nglish term fugue originated in the "#th century and is derived from the $rench word fugue or the Italian fuga. his in turn comes from %atin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere (&to flee&) and fugare (&to chase&).'"( he adjectival form is fugal.')( *ariants include fughetta (literally, &a small fugue&) and fugato (a passage in fugal style within another wor+ that is not a fugue).',( - fugue usually has three sections: an e.position, a development, and a recapitulation containing the return of the subject in the fugue/s tonic +ey, though not all fugues have a recapitulation.'0( In the 1iddle -ges, the term was widely used to denote any wor+s in canonic style2 by the 3enaissance, it had come to denote specifically imitative wor+s.'4( 5ince the "6th century,'#( the term fugue has described what is commonly regarded as the most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint. '6( 1ost fugues open with a short main theme, the subject,'7( which then sounds successively in each voice (after the first voice is finished stating the subject, a second voice repeats the subject at a different pitch, and other voices repeat in the same way)2 when each voice has entered, the exposition is complete. his is often followed by a connecting passage, or episode, developed from previously heard material2 further &entries& of the subject then are heard in related +eys. !pisodes (if applicable) and entries are usually alternated until the &final entry& of the subject, by which point the music has returned to the opening +ey, or tonic, which is often followed by closing material, the coda.',('8( In this sense, a fugue is a style of composition, rather than a fi.ed structure. he form evolved during the "7th century from several earlier types of contrapuntal compositions, such as imitative ricercars, capriccios, can9onas, and fantasias.'":( he famous fugue composer ;ohann 5ebastian <ach ("#74="64:) shaped his own wor+s after those of ;ohann ;a+ob $roberger ("#"#= "##6), ;ohann >achelbel ("#4,="6:#), ?irolamo $rescobaldi ("47,="#0,), @ieterich <u.tehude (c. "#,6="6:6), and other composers.'":( Aith the decline of sophisticated styles at the end of the baroque period, the fugue/s central role waned, eventually giving way as sonata form and the symphony orchestra rose to a dominant position.'""( Bevertheless, composers continued to write and study fugues for various purposes2 they appear in the wor+s of Aolfgang -madeus 1o9art ("64#="68")'""( and %udwig van <eethoven ("66:="7)6),'""( as well as modern composers such as @mitri 5hosta+ovich ("8:#="864).'")(

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