FUGUE' DieKunst der HE stud studen en shou should ld makehis makehis ow anal analys ysisof isof DieKunst Fuge; bu his result result wil need need verify verifying ing an th follo followin win pages pages wil serve serve his purp purpose ose
sche scheme me of (her (herei eina naft fter er call called ed K. d.F. d.F. invo involv lves es some some disc discre repa panc nc betw betwee ee matt matter er an form form bu it is mistak mistak to assignthis assignthis discr discrepa epancy ncy to the techn technica ica diffic difficult ulties ies Bach Bach eals eals it No em iffi iffi ltie ltie hi with with some some of th appa appare rent ntly ly arti artifi fici cial al sche scheme me even even th diff diffic icul ulti ties es fo ordi ordina nary ry mort mortal al havebee havebee gros grossl sl over overra rate ted; d; an th firs firs el t' co li es re we leas leas ec tth simp simple lest st fugu fugues es Fo Bach Bach uses uses th same same subj subjec ec in all; all; an subj subjec ec capa capabl bl of th most most elab elabor orat at stre strett tt cann cannot ot be th kind kind of subj subjec ec Bachwou Bachwould ld norm normal ally ly choo choosefor sefor simp simple le fugu fugue. e. In Das Wohlt Wohltemp emperi erirte rte KZavie KZavie (h rein rein ft alle alle K. th
I'! II
'.
ll th ther ther av so su feat featur ur as ou er subj subjec ects ts iden identi tifi fiab able le recu recurr rrin in epis episod odes es or stre strett tti; i; an even even th inor inor an ajor ajor of Bk II haveru haverudi dime ment ntar ar coun counte terrsubj subjec ects ts whil whil th recu recurr rrin in epis episod odes es in th mino mino ar very very serious serious subject! subject! ,I,.
th maki making ng of simp simple le fugu fugues es on seve severe re them them so inte intere rest stin in that that he wrot wrot no less less than than four four with withou ou allo allowi winghi nghims msel el an ofthe devi device cesfo sfo whic whic that that them them wa desi design gned ed Thes Thes firs firs deforce in compos four four fugu fugues es ar as rema remark rkab able le tour deforce compositi ition on as
F'jid~
contrapuntal combinatio really greatl simplifies th composer's task Ii:is likethose Japanese pape pellet whic when droppe into wate unfold into flowers Th composer make fu expositions,and the gradually combines the until he reaches he fina tage in whic al he material co bi atio go throug thei most effectivepermutation an come to an end. et e ne r ee co poseitself. Bu simp fugu al os ur effort composition: it givesthe composerno apriori guidance except e, proces is relievedby episodesarising naturally fro the subjec an it accompan ments. Ob io sl he ar of compositio here depend largel on th episodes an if thes ar merely connective tissue withou strong recurrin features th composer' powe of rhetoric is indeed severelytested Such is th No I. proble Bach se himsel in ontrapunct I. Th subjec Ex.I. ~!:.:2
isannounced by th alto Upon it last note th sopran enters with tonal answer Th principl of tona answer rest op.the fact that it is seldom desirabl that each voic should crudel transp se he subjec nt ts ow key. Accord ngly to al answer begins by lyin on th do inan ra he than in the an character at the first convenien note, and afterward,sproceeds al ra ed ct mo ulates to th do inant, wh ch case th an we us contrive to return to th tonic. In th exposition (i.e. unti al
T O th voiceshave entered with th subject) th only regula form of answeris that whic lies on or he do inan as Ex.2.
~~~~~~~
r~~~-=§~
bu asth flatat th en of Ex hows ac doesno al ow pedantries interfer with hi ar ony. Many fine modu lation arise fro 'irregular late entries. betwee th entrie of subjec (S an answer (A), an so th
rd
rp cc
,t
ft fr co
rhythms;. J. and ~n componen parts. This kind of counterpoint continues, afte th ex ositio from ba 24 whil th al rests. Thes bars then ar th firs ep sode In ba he alto enters wi the subject. merelyinterstitia episod separatesthis fro an answer bu
real transpositio into th dominant minor. er whereb th ke swings roun to mino th subdominant. Th overlappin by ne ba doesno amount to stre to bu ac ha alread in ar 29 ee unable to re is hree-not Bachtha we should neve confus such hint with hi definite contrapunta devices. He alwayswork hi scheme ou to th et ay variation. Fo instance th them of this fugu an of al th others in th work is always continue righ to th firs note of it fift ar Again, regula counter-su ject is hi Wy characteristi featur constantl accompanying the subjec in
'I
il
,!
"'~,
variou positions. We must no givethe name to th counterpoin of bars 6- in this firs fugu merely becaus Bach does no troubl to invent somethin differen fo th bass of bars 14-16. At ar 36 anothe ep sode begi s. It asts rJ ar an at (a ar er of with anothe answer-for of th ub ec landin it in ep ar ad th soprano, precede by an anticipation of th firs tw note ofthe them by th altoin ba 48 Thre barsafter th sopran ha finished th subject, th bass having rested bars enters in mino (the sopran having in ba 55 made anothe poin of premonitor tw notes) Th bass carrie th figureof th it move to dominant pedal. Meanwhile,with ba 60the last emphatic clos spaced ou with rhetorical pauses This clos ends on toni peda over which, with subdominan tendency an ma or3r (tierce de Picardie),t h teno givesa fina answer-for of th subject, of whic th last note (a usuall K. d. .) arri es with he last ar Th gran io fu clos in bars 70-4 is actuallythe only closein th whol fugue. Th last bars ar no in th 'Berli autograph' whic represents Bach's firs version, ending as follows: (72)
(74) '""
.--d~l
subjec (whichalwaysaccounts fo bars with ga of bars ee rn er ap es ct ee entrie follow each afte shor (4bar) episode, with notice able tendency to arouse anticipation in othe parts; an at last we havea long episod of 14bars makinga climaxan coming to th only (and therefore final) closein th composition. Th counterpoint ha give th composer no help whatever Each entr of th subjec is preceded by rest an each long rest is followedby an entr of th subject. Contrapunctu II also ha no definite contrapuntal deviceNo that ca serv to shap th composition. Bu th counterpoint II is givena strong character by mean of dottin th fourth ba of th subjec an deriving many sequence from it figure with th hort no es oldl ie he longer ones in ys ematic defiance co on rule of rh th in coun er oi t. (See ba 5. Wher eachpar isplaye or sung by separate person .tha rule is practical common sense; bu in keyboard counterpoin ther is no awkwardnessin playin th eccentric rhythm wi so fi gers an he accented beat it others Th exposition in th orde Bass Tenor, Alto Sopran (hereinafte calle ), agai accoun fo th firs 16bar wi hout nterruptio af er which, bars ep sode en in well-marke half-closeon th dominant Then in ba 23 A, imitated by th lowe voices appear to be starting anothe drifte into th subject, thus starting counter-exposition in er (a ),B (a 1 b ar ) (a ar ).
~.J. G-=-~--. ""'
It is eviden that th importan thin in this fuguc::,isth wa in whic it is spacedout Th uninterrupte exposition weld he firs 16bar in bi ymmetr ca ni Th next bars of episod reliev th regularity Then ther is an entr of th
subjec inF major. (The rule abou entrie an rest isobserved erin en an ma ente with casual counterpoint"after on rest answer with twis into minor,immediately followed atma
'ff!!fi
'ilJ;~"
enters agai in minor. Anothe 4-ba episod separate this fro an answer, syncopated, in T, afte whic bars ofepisode len poin of grea interest in th histor of th workis that in th Berlin autograp this fugu ende with half-close sub17\
rb r7
stituting the chord
ss
firs ha thou ht of pl ying so of th fu ue in qu nc It nl kely ha he ev th ug of perfor in he whol seri on he very na ur of th hemeis no mor favourabl to goo contrasts tha the pla of dictionary. fu presen IV whic also fits it wa no ye projected. Th compositio of Contrapunctu II depend even more than in Contrapunctu on finerhetorica detail Th studen ca easilysee th powe of such detail by th effect in situ of rn gto achiev such climaxin an exercise
No
Contrapunctu II isoneo Bach'smostbeautifulpiecesof
(I rl rp emerge from th matrix of th keyboard style. Th subjec is th inversio of Ex 1Ex.3. j::2 t::
jt~~
~,
an Bachbegin with th tenor, in th position of an answerto x. 3. In ot word he subj of hi fugu odul at nc to th do in nt nd ba k, nd Ex fo it sw r. he pening odul io ha st ri us ff .~whic enhanced by th chromati counterpoint whic accompanie he ns er hi ount rp int, unli he in term nate
T O ompaniment os of th at ntri s, nd natura ly occursin th voicetha lasthad th subject. It thus constitute regula counter-subjec (hereinafte calle c.-s.) An episod of bars intervenes betwee th thir entr (S an th fourth (B) Theorists callan episod acodettawhe it occursbeforethe en ofthe exposition Th distinctio is no only useles bu confusin when such an episod recurs late in th course of fu unbroken by episode, an th I6-bar regularity of th firs tw fugues here is specia effectintended to givebreadt to thos otherwise restricte compositions. Th exposition of this thir fugue,then, is inth orde T, (w th ou ter-su je ), (c.-s. in A) nd ft -b piso e, (c.-s. in ). hr ma ic sequ nt piso no follows; I-ba sequence in whic th sopran an alto deviceby whic Bach in othe highly organize fugues is able to make straight sequence of many step withou monotony In th presen instance th bass neve exchangeswit th othe parts; but simila episodesin other fuguesare in triple counterpoint, with si possiblepositions (seeth shar majo fugue, Das Musika/ische Opfer is in quadrupl counterpoint with 24 poss bl posi io s. It is mportant re li th urpo of thi device,viz. the grand simplicit of lon sequenceunder lying constantly changing surface. Callthis passage(bars 19-22)the secondepisode At bar 23,S (wit c.-S in A) give an ornamental variatio of th subject, with syncopations and passing-notes Ex.4.
~~~~~ im ortant
h' sy te
of fugue. Yo will find
very
-, ;."",",- "!'c"'::':4",";}'L'1!J!!ffJI~~~
regula exampl carrie throug al four voices in clos two-
(without c.-s.).
tin sr
als in unsyncopate variation and wit chromati alteratio in it last bar. Afte an interstitial ba th subject, unvaried enters fo th last timein T, an si morebar closeth fugue. Th Berlin autograp is tw bars shorter, representing ba 70 by the followin final chord
~=I -----
I~ '.~
\V
episodes Theyallarisefrom th quaver in th last ba ofEx 3, direct an inverted i.e. goin up or goin down together with cuckoo-likefigureof descending3rd whichis firs represented by its characteristiciambi rhythm . I J J in thecounter points of th exposition an whic afterwards!'develop in ways easier to appreciate by ea than to describe ex siti is in th er S, wi ar ct ri ti
T O 2-ba interlude) T, B. Episod
fillsthe bars from 19t 26
rs 0bars it es(i in r)to ll cl se(alway remarkable incident in fugue) an proceeds on ne line fo anothe bars (53-60). No comesa series of entrie with what ma be calledan enhanced form ofth subject. In toni siti this sp en id evic ul th s, wi th ex planatory harmonies:
F~~~ It ha powerfullyrhetorica modulatingeffect. It first appear at ar B, starti in an reac in in r, wh reit is immediatel answered by T, whic thereb reache th domi an ba ep so nter en he ck -lik 3rds whic have been making an insisten (thoug no fixed) counterpoint to the enhanced subject, no becom rising 6ths. enters with th enhanced subjec in mino moving to th dominant of A; an followsi mino goin righ over th dominant of minor, very bold venture. Episod begins in erti th treble ar -8 an sw ging ro resume an develope fo anothe 16bars closingin mino (ba 10;3)afte whic th episod continue with th line take Bach is no allowinghimself to us an of th contrapuntal device fo whic hi them wa designed bu he no give it treatmen whic is no exactlya stretto, bu kind of syncodouble in syncopated lowe 3rds by B. This combinatio is im ed at ly answer Sa S, wh ch is in th al
~c""~"~~""""""",
".='I'!'
position or th answer is syncopated whil is on th beat 6t below. Th lastepisodebeginsat ba II onthe prevalen line of th scal runs an th cuckoo-figure. Bu afte bars it proceeds to develo th beginnin of Ep 3, reinvertin 4 51 nd 1- in ba 19 2, nv n sw e subject, whic closesinto minor, wher inal entr in A, plus bars ends th fugue, ov th usua toni pedal. th cuckoo-figur in giving rhetorical forc to th counterpoint, bu it does no amount to steady counter-subject. word must be said abou th te po ofthese fugues Th time-signatures nd ar no clue Ba huse them nd in th pres nt editio th -are with du warnin in footnotes, altere accordin to thei meanin in modern music. Nobody with sens of beauty woul want to take an alla-breve temp fo th lovelymelancholy of Contrapunctu III; bu anybgd wh thinks that in Contrapunctu IV su passag bars 53-60 could be slowe tha fairly livel alla-brev must be in th state ofmind impute by Strachan-Davidso to the schoolbo who'believe in hisheart tha no nonsenseis too enormou to be possible translation of classicalauthor'.
bu withou syncopatio an withou th gr cefu before th B~ Contrapunctus is astretto-fugue in contrar motion.'-We ma aswel us th sign invented by Wesleyan Horn fo th 1\
bj
.",
-";'jiib
nd or he in te su je t. it il nv ie to he ig in la io to he wo whole. On this reckonin Contrapunctu begin,uvit in bars (instead of 4) by 1\ A, whic is answered afte whereupon, stil at 3-ba intervals, enters with 1\ answered by in T. 3-ba episode,arising, usual,from th quav
F
figure,lead to
F
counter-exposition at 3-ba intervals, in th 1\
minor) 1\. Anothe 3-ba episod lead to major, wher th strett begin. Bachknowsof no such rule as that th strett should make thei climaxes by appearin in graduall closer order. He does no thin th climaxesdepend' on an such closest stretto
1\;
sw
ha
o th e
3-ba episodebrings us to th conversestrett in minor TV; answer by 1\. he nd vea ne tr tt h
this episod lead to th inversio of th second stretto, 1\ in minor,answere at bars an octavelowe by 1\. (The Bach uses th idea of tona answerto swin from on ke to anothe by substituting 4t fo th iniria 5th. Th studen should note othe case or himself. This is on of th simple further apparatus. Another interstitial episod no lead in bars to an inversion of th 4-part canoni passagetha form th only charac terize episod in this ugue In bars 65-8 th figure of 1\ is thus work into cano at crotchet distances. Th part ar no in th exac revers orde of bars 53-6 though they coul have been so arranged Bu such 'mirror' inversionsbelongto late problem. This episod lead back to minor, wher require accessoryparts to suppor the 4th which com on the
'~'~".::;..,;::"~,""!!I:ii!!ti&~~,,i;cili."ITiJ!~i
12
F
F
'A
answeredby TV Th usua 3bar ofinterstitial episodeintervene ef re we co to th co erse stretto, answered
eser in it fo th in nt y, hich foll ws afte ba episode. Tl-,ismakesan emphatic closeint finaltoni peda
ove which,wit
major tierce de Picardie,the voicesbreak
into part an th altowit th uppe bassgiveth direct an
inverted themes simultaneously; O. Grea rhetorical powe is ordinaril smooth and not (inBach's estimation)verydifferen from eachother. Th structur ispunctuated bythe half-close at bars 52and 64 beforethos imitativ episodes whic ar th backbone of th composition. Otherwise, smoothness is th main poin of th whole. Bach ha made incalculableprogres sinc th earl stretto-fugues in D~ mino an mino whic following,fro Ex.6.
th D~ mino fugue-
amused himsel by puttin the abovesign int the score(bein scrupulous in no so labellin mere fragments) he ha analysed detail by labellin th firs or note ofth subjec '(a) an th last note th in tu n) (b)' an this willenable hi to se that th episodes an interstitial counterpoint ar no withou organization He maylabel the short demisemiquaver runs (i th st leof French erture with th letter if from (b).
overrate th master show in thei perfec smoothness. An to mak reasonabl effectivecomposition out of suc uniform asse of strett is lm st as reat tou deforc th wholeNos VI an VI ar aestheticallyabou asimportan as No I, whic No VI resemble in th featur of reservin it ul lose or the,fina climax (Y must call ever toni chor full clos whenit is preceded by dominant that
~'~
I~~~:JF~.J.~
~. The episodes ar mere interstitial though they make excellen us of th fi st fi ur of th di inis ed su je t. Fo th es th
i'
t:J
[I
ould wh ll inad issi le in K. P. th gh th alto in th fift ba of Ex woul certainl soun more convincingif it coul have been played withou skipping to th higher 8ve. Bu playabilit is asstric on itio in K. F. asin W. K. No Co trap nc us VI is soli as fstretto with,t su ject VI no onlydirectand inverted bu alsodiminished in both forms. Wesleyand Horn us th sign fo diminution an we must combin it with th othe signs Thus th exposition brings in
incident in bars
II-I2
oe
fl
Nothin is re overrate than th if ic lt of akin contrapuntal combinations Ther is no difficulty your combination will work automaticall if they ar goin to work at all An experienced composeracquiresan instinct for combinascientious says to preconceived material ']I,1archeau je t'assomme', and, like Adam de la Hale 'rough-hew th main accent into concord. If he is on of ou nobl liberators from classicalprejudice, he simpl says '9a marche overany number
._,
~{j
..
',,"'e..:!!:'!,-:!!!,,'
F
of things he choosesto pu together an thunders hi anathe ma at an critic soblasphemousas to object. Al th ingenuit of K. d. F. xc pt fe fr akis fireworks,was settle once for allwhen Bac invented firs tha wonderfull plasti subjec and, secondly-to-seventhIy,certain other subjects that combin with it At presen he is engage in th comparativel trivia taskof o~bining it withits lf nd he unable to pile up hi fu \'(7 K. I, majo an W. K. II major, simplybecausethere ar to many of them here Thes fuguesare restricted no by thei ingenuit bu by what is fo Bach thei ridiculous ease No I.
Contrapunctu VI adds augm ntatio to th diminution 2must havebeen very simple process,afte Bach ha collecte hi materi fo th wholeK. d. F. to begi with He probably firs wrot th bars whic lead to th ntry of he bass with he augm nted inverted subj ct (Wesle an Horn us he sign fo augmen ation. Th he wrot ou he bass th following8 bars properl spaced to leav room fo 16notes to bar. He th pu wh teve entrie an counterpoint came hand abov this includin th double-diminution of (a). Ex.7. ----~
Of coursethe diminished subjec ca slip in sometwo or thre times whil is boomin in he bass Th take us to ba 14 Ba prob bl blocke ou th rest of th fugu in th same proceed wit the ordinar and dL.'1linishesubjec for -u ur A, th fa
th
bars.
Bach does no mind giving 'it twic infthe same
extrem case of Bach's deliberate contempt fo rule abou which som eighteenth-century theorists wer ver strict. The
F
studen should note othe as fo himself, nd should no fail to observehow al suspicio of tautolog disappears in th genera resu t. Bach neve uses rule as subs itut fo hi ow judgement. This particular rule is as powerles to avoi tautolog as ru1efo callin Bach 'the Leipzi Cantor an 'th master-contrapuntist',1Xc., &c. in alternate sentences.) r, nd business of th next bars Mt th only episod of 3-bars length en er mino with agains th Ii-ba strett of 1\ at th 8ve. Then 7bar of th diminished subjec leadto by wa ofclimax ou fina bars cometo th 1\ highup close. Ther ar no othe closes Th
majo orga fugu Ex.8.
~~~
'---"
he fe rv on fo delaye firs entr of th pedals to whic th augmentation is confined an whic devote themselvesto it exclusively. Such ew sno K. d. dr conjectura finish of th grea quadruple fugue No we cometo th centra business of K. d. F. th fugues No ou or wh II motto-them is combined with others Such fugues ar thos whic Bachmos enjoysworkingout on largescale,an ther rk rt d in g h e amon hi greatest compositions an must be take on thei individual merits. Contrapunctu VIII is th re
triple fugu -with hr strongly we nature nd purpos of po yphony Much vexatiou
0""
F
damage is done to th enjoymen of music, even fo musician themselves,by the mista.~e notion tha in order to understan po yphony yo must ab to at en to ll he part once No such mistak wa made by th sixteenth-centur theorist towhomPalestrina' polyphony wasth finaloutcomeofa tradiio as nc en to th ac is to us now. Th yanalyse adequate. For everyfault of harmon existsbetween twoparts; nd if th sa im on erns more we al it more than on fault. If in he 6-part olyphony ofth Missa Papae Mareilli or th 4o-par polyphon of Tallis's Spem in aliu th re ar no faul s, th ou njoyme of th uphony do no depend ou tt ndin to th individu parts. It is he same with combinations of themes piec of triple counterpoin is or ough to be satisfactorymas of harmon in th firs place. Second!y this harmon happen to be produced by thre pregnant melodies sodispose that an ca be bass or rebl to th others Consequent this as of harmon re differen surfac or bass To complain that we cannot attend to al thre themes at onceis likearguing that no pictur origh to be larger than postage-stam becaus that is full as larg an area asthe eye' centre of clea vision ca comprise
In point of fact, Bach'striple counterpoint (likethe
eoup
d'a;il of bi picture) produc an immediat effect before we make ny ffor atte tion Th he es re so ontraste be tr nsparent ac other. On wi trickl alon rapi movement whic woul be audibl even in an underton agains he others Anothe wi have wide kips whic wi alwaysa trac tt ntio ev in nner part Th thir wi perh ps onsist of some on otes in hain of susp nd discords whic is asmuc asto sa that it provides,,themai harm ni ff t. Or it ma have some eculia rhythm ee th ombina ions of ubject with tw ount r-subjects in I,
F
Contrapunctu VIII is on th line of K. I, II, F# mi.; in whic thre subjects ar give eq1;1aprominence by bein introduced in separate sections thei complete combination bein reservedfor alater stage. (In th grea C# mino fugu th thir subjec soon join th second in makingtripl ount rpoint wi he first; nd th fina stag is devote to pile of strett on 1\ 1\.) Th composer'sfirst task in such fugu is to makehis fina combination. The listener wil understan the aestheticvalue re composer' intention of pullin the whole together. Here then is th 'idea' of Contrapunctu VIII Ex.9. A1V
1\
~1J-J-~ 1\
Like ll good trip nd multiple ount rpoint hese thre neithe begi ogethe no en together They re perfectl ra 1\ makes .suspended discords with 1\. And 1\, wh ch th nverte motto-them of K. d. F. is conspicuou by it broken rhythm deligh fu in tanc of ach' powe of vari tion an very suggestiveof Brahms. Thre su th me ar enough fo verybig fugu nd so
~a of It bars betw th very firs oice nd it an we rare il Bach it here ha th effectof prolongin th subject, as au thr~ part at firs us th figureit contains Th rest ofthe counterpoint does no form regula counter-subject, bu it
, "
figure ar used co stantly. Yo may, if ou like eriv th figureof bars 7- by diminution frombar 5-6, though doub whet er this ach' wa of hinking. At al events yo et f ir s es ar as(y ,yo will then ab to accoun fo os of th quaver co nter points asmade of x+ direct an inverted Ex 10
F
F
development, bu atbar 74 it take up he figure of 1\, which
intentio al poin to ca ua resemblances to 1\ (wit
reversed
accents) in bars 74-6 An unmistakable bu unfinished entr of 1\ comesin at he en ofba 79 av ng alread egun
~~~=-r-~~
to unroll th figure of 1\. Afte tw bars
take th poin up
co ry 1\ over 1\ followingepisod brings this second sectlOnto an en with
Ex II
I~~
~+
climax Beginnin with th of 1\ in clos imitatio whil
-.-/
matter it treats th figure allude to 1\;
Si bars afte he expo itio ha an en ry 1\ with su ge tionof clos strett B. Bu tretto is no th business of this fugue, an imitativ suggestion ar al that ar ev ed ro fi of bars 8- °, an at ba 35B conclude th firs sectio
episod come with flourish (implyin half-close (bar 93).
wi
rhythm Th figureof 1\ (but no th whol theme) also join th counterpoints. Afte bar' interlud give th answer of 1\;
he whol theme, ending at ba 39
appearance alread in combinatio with I\ ri
1\
1\
akes it firs
It is in A, belo
1\
(1\)
nter al of2 barsfromth en ofth s,we have th rd entr in Aminor (A 1\, 1\). Then ther is 7-ba episod developin
1\ and
fo lowed,after
in (followedby th long-forgotten x) answered by in (which continue with 1\), form free counterpoint to 1\;
Th next episod develops Ii-
whic start th episod on ne figure of 1\.
~=--~~ ---A
1\
2-ba in erlude at
1\ 1\
1\
bi rallentando) to
1\ over 1\ on
imitativ development ofthe
is resu ed in an answered by th whol he in in an abnorma relation to 1\ whic appears in A, partially bu effect ve double in 3rds by B. (The abnormalit in th relation of 1\ to 1\ double co nt rpoint othe th
in th 8ve,but that it om ines
' " . "" ' , ,
n""""""
20
FUGUE'
ContrapunctusIX is in double counterpoint(hereinafterNo.
name.) Th ol extr bars (5an 6)reappear.
answers,with 1\ in
at th normal poin an pitch. Then
12-barepisode on 1\
lead to th
and
2I
tage fo whic this fu ue ha be
pr paring
fo rs With th trip ou te po nt be ins. Accordingto the position ofthe theme it shou1O.bein major, bu bold handling ofaccidentals(unknownin principl to texts) wa th irst ba into in an er ldly warp th answerintoE minor. Onlythe thir entr is normal to it keyof minor. Thes entries,with th wholelas sectio of th fugue, ar best tabulate as follows:
calledD-C at th 12th Th object ofthi deviceis to obtain IX tw differen harmonic scheme from on pair of melodies di ar inte ch arts an ta tw es alte th root of th harmony; bu properly manage Din th od es tw ar edly if eren ar ic ff ct si es ch ng ng th ex ession th shifte them co th th in erts to th th hift th assumes ne colourin of dominan or subdominan accord ing to circumstances. In the Berlinautograp thi fugueis NO.5, which showsonly that it probably occurred to Bach before others whic should normal time an so we ma us it in th followin paradigm Ex. 13.
B" 147-51{~
B" 152-
'-
{g
di,g 'o asE
fFC~
i.
-L
-=;j
bars (It) interlud
position. I~-~~ B=
8CO
)-
{~
bars episod on ne lines, ending with figure of 1\.
~~~~~ \I~
bars episod on line of th previous one.
B" 18 (,nd to OD offugu
{~
~~~~
{I~ Th shifting tonality of th runnin them when it is placed 12th higher is very interestin and, as th alternativ acci dental show capabl of somefre play Bach feelin that th semiquaver migh sugges to quic
22
tempo, change th notation doubling th note-value an halvin th bars We should however,misinterpre hi if we
un in
sufficiently like alla
episod return to ination, /\ in A,
breve
to accoun fo hi ever having though
se iqua er at all. Bu no to fa or th detail ba 20-1 cannot accoun fo th manifest perversity of Bach's alla-breve time-signatures. Bu th choice ote-valuesis anothe atte with etho in it notation in quaver and semiquavershas its advantage in key oard poly hony fo th uave -bar ofte ho th continuity ofa part that movesfromonestaveto th other, wherea crotchet an minims show no connexion. In open scor this advantag disappears an th engraver (whose poin of view Bach thoroughly understood merely ha some 30 pe cent more wor wit those troublesome heavy lines. Moreover, the open score, with it four voca clefs,is associated with choral usic an ac accordingl change to th characte isti choral note-value when he decide to pu th work into score. It is elanchol reflection that if th Berlin autograp ha from no nonsense as to it no bein practica keyboard music, theoretica aspect than is implie by it titl an it us of on them throughout al it numbers. Bach change hi notation in simila wayselsewhere e!g.in th ajor organ-fugue, an in th 48th prelud ofW. K. In late si ther is th intere ting ca of endelssohn eMidsummer Night' Dream writin th alla-breve overture as common-tim bars oftwic th lengt in hi pianofort arrangement; an agner, in Isolde's Liebestod, transcribe 10 alla-breve Contrapunctu IX beginswithan uninterrupte expositio of its runnin theme (whichwewil cal 1\), in the orderA,B,S, T. -bar ep sode (t
studen ca le er
fi ures alread
heme lead to th en ry
1\
1\
1\
1\
minor, wher we have th original com-
minor, wher th inversio in th 12this agai give to an T. Th next episod take bars nd asin ontrapunctus I, hint ofthe K. d. F. them ar givenby premonitor rising 5ths or 4ths At ba 89 th twelfth-position appears, 1\ /\ at 12thi S. This isimmediatelyfollowed(withonl bar'
T, fina entr of th original combination, 1\ an soto th en of very brillian an straightforwar fugue. Contrapunctu isin D- at th loth Th mereinversion No at this interval av istinc ch racter bu they av th X.
simultaneously. Consequently the mak it possible to double th th ie th thre finest examplesin th worl ar this fugue, th inor fugu inW. K. II (whichis alsoin th 12thand makesmagnifi Pleni sun in th in th coeli in in main them is in th bass double thre 8vesand 3r higher by trumpet, il th ther them is in cl se 3rds or inne voices. al ne as
or
fu ue-openi g,
it th answer in at is lu originaleditio an most others EvenRust, in th Bachgesell schaft edition, coul no resolv to removeit to th appendix Ther is really no easo hy it ho ld be rinted at all; th purposes of th most exhaustive editio woul be served by
,"'."'
"'~ "",..
"",""'.
2S
list ofits trivia differencesfro th finalversion apart from what ha just been said Th pa whic Bach adde th beginnin is on of he profoundes an most beautifu he ever wrote. Th broken rhythm an varied tonality of th ne theme, with it wistfu ru up to Cq givean effectof poeticmystery deepened by th cu ar ct re To ac breaks an ol rule whic he wa neve concerne to keep bu em ee ru th firs note of fugu must be either th toni or he domi nant Bu no hi ne he e, announce by A, begins with th leading-note an th answerby is in th subdominant, breakin th rul that allowsonlythe dominant as modulation during th exposition (I W. K. th four en ry of th grea C:Ij inor fugu breaks this rule an so does he subject, already beginnin on th leading-note of th F:Ijmajor fugue in k. II.)
wi ac ea ex ep development.) In he expositionof/\II asit ra in th firs draft, i.e.withou th accessoryA an of bars 23-6 th voicesexpos /\II with ou brea an alwaysat 3-ba distance (a in NO.5), th Mter
(b
ContrapuncU: V.
answer in partia strett at
in T, then
ba in th
becaus it cannot be carr ed through; bu it make ts po nt here In du course answers, an th accessor voicesrest ar
Ex.14.
r:~
1["1.
rm eg er ct rw rd givenextraordinaryprominenc in episodes. (Thi fugue ranks
rl
A/\
rs
II
appears ci
sto
II Th followingparadigm show ho th position at th lOth ca be used together with th originalmodel Ex.IS.
~-L~ "II,,(~i
impressive subsidence from mino to minor) an more bars brin th sectio to half-clo (bar 22).
6-ba episod th firs combinatio of
,----...
l~ Such schemehas an number of permutations; far more than th twenty-four ofa genuin quadruple counterpoint Either or both themes maybe double in 3rdseither aboveorbelow,or in 6ths abov or below,or, ashere, in lo hs with on part th middle An th tw themes ar verylikelytp be invertible in asin er an at II er ch es bo themes at once Th presen comb na io woul be in to stif rhythm withou keepin on part free to movein it ow way. Fo hi an othe reason no quarte ofeve th typica permutations ar used to sa nothin of th stretti. Bars 56-65 are an episodewhic take th unorthodo form
