Fugas (Chapt 15-17) PT1

Question 1

¿Qué es una fuga?

Answer 1

As the term “fugue form” actually has no exact meaning, the mos valid concept of fuge is that:

It is a way of writing, a particular contrapuntal approach.

Question 2

Three-part plan for fugues usually contains:

Answer 2

1. An “exposition,” in which the subject is announced in imitative fashion according
   to a traditional pattern;
2. A freer portion, sometimes called a “development section,” which generally avoids the tonic key;
3. some reference to the subject, in the tonic key, near the end. This may be anything from a portion of the subject to a series of complete and emphatic statements, a full-fledged “recapitulation.”

Question 3

THE SUBJECT

Answer 3

1- Subjects vary considerably in length, some being as short as one measure, and others as long as eight or more measures.

2- The principie involved here is that a subject
should be long enough to give the feeling of being an actual line instead of a figure, but not so long that the listener will have difficulty in retaining it.

3- The average length of the subjects in The Well-Tempered Clavier is about two measures.

Question 4

THE ANSWER

Answer 4

After the subject has been stated alone, another voice enters and announces it in the dominant. This second appearance is called the “answer.”

Then comes a third announcement, normally in subject form-that is, in the tonic. If the fugue has four voices, the fourth announcement will usually be a second answer.

Question 5

EXPOSITION

Answer 5

The initial statement of the subject and answer in all voices in turn is called the exposition.

Usually there are as many announcements in the exposition as there are voices in the fugue, although an extra announcement is sometimes added.

Question 6

Countersubject

Answer 6

A countersubject is a melodic idea that appears consistently along with the subject in the exposition- from the second announcement on
of course, since the first is normally unaccompanied-and later in the fugue as well.

Question 7

Exposition armonic pattern in three voices fugues

Answer 7

In three-voice fugues the pattern of keys in the exposition is always tonic, dominant, tonic (subject, answer, subject).