Ebenezer Prout

“ As being the easier, we shall first speak of real answers. The rule for knowing when a subject can have a real answer is very simple, and may be thus stated:—Every subject in which there is no modulation to the dominant, either expressed or implied, [1] may have a real answer, excepting, first, when it begins on the tonic and leaps to the dominant either direct or with the third of the scale as an intermediate note ”

“ There is, probably, hardly any other form of composition in which there is so much room for variation of detail as the fugue. Beyond the fact that all fugues contain an exposition, a middle section, and a final section, there is little or nothing that they necessarily have in common. The one point to realize is, that a fugue should be, so to speak, an organic growth, the materials of which are to be developed mainly from the subject and its accompanying counterpoints. ”

“ Beyond these general principles, it is impossible to teach the student how to write episodes for his fugues, excepting by showing him how the great masters have written them. It is here (just as with the "free fantasia" of a sonata or symphony) that the composer's imagination has the fullest scope. So long as he keeps within the bounds of the artistic and beautiful, he may in this part of the fugue do whatever seems good in his own eyes ”

“ As the possibility of a fugal answer being in the key of the subdominant has not, so far as we know, been touched upon in any existing treatise, it will be needful to give a considerable number of examples by the greatest masters—not only to establish the fact, but to enable us to deduce the necessary rules for the student's guidance in deciding when such an answer is advisable. ”

“ Our next question is, By which voice of the other pair (supposing the fugue to be for four voices) should the answer be given? If, for instance, the treble leads with the subject, should the alto or the bass have the answer? It is seldom difficult to decide this point, if we remember that it is generally best for the last entry in the exposition to be in an outer, rather than in a middle voice. The reason for this is that it is easier to distinguish the subject or answer when it is in an outer part, especially in fugues with four or five voices. ”

“ One of the most important points to be considered in the composition of a fugue is the choice of a good subject. It would be possible to write a fugue of some kind—or, to speak more correctly, a piece in fugal form, on almost any subject that might be selected; but it is by no means every melody that is adapted for fugal treatment; and it is no more possible to make a really good fugue on a bad subject than it would be to make a really good coat out of rotten cloth. In this chapter we shall endeavour to show what are the essentials of a good subject. ”

“ It is by no means necessary that every fugue should have a regular countersubject. Of the forty-eight fugues in the 'Wohltemperirtes Clavier' there are seventeen which have none; and the question naturally arises, When it is desirable to write a countersubject to a fugue, and when can it be suitably dispensed with? It is impossible to lay down a hard and fast rule on the matter; but a careful examination of those fugues which have no countersubject shows that, in a large majority of cases, it is unnecessary, if the subject is intended to be elaborately combined with itself. ”

“ As a general rule, the slower the time, the fewer should be the bars in a fugue subject. It is important that the hearer should readily recognize the subject when it reappears, and this is much more easily done if it be concise than if it be long and straggling. Many of the finest fugues existing are those written on short subjects. It should be added that the length of the subject in vocal fugues will partly depend on the words, as the cadence should always come where the sense of the text allows it. ”

“ Not one rule is given which is not enforced by the example of distinguished composers. Where theory and the practice of Bach, Handel, or Mozart come into collision, theory must give way; and the student who writes fugues according to the directions given in this book may at all events comfort himself that if he is wrong, he is in exceedingly good company. ”

“ It is possible to give very definite rules as to the correct answering of a fugue subject, the treatment of the exposition and episodes, and the construction of stretto. But in dealing with those parts of a fugue which we are now approaching, we are met by far greater difficulties than any we have as yet encountered. These arise from the fact that as soon as in composing a fugue we get beyond the exposition (or counter-exposition, if there be one) , we are left to a very great extent free to do what we please ”

“ If the student clearly understands how to answer a fugue subject, and how to write a good countersubject against the answer, he will be ready to commence the next stage of his work—the composition of a complete exposition of a fugue. ”

“ The last point of importance to be mentioned is the necessity of distinct character in a fugue subject. A mere meaningless collection of notes, resembling a clumsy counterpoint exercise, will never make a good fugue. The chief essentials in this respect are a clearly defined melody, and a well-marked rhythm. ”

“ A Fugue is a composition founded upon one subject, announced at first in one part alone, and subsequently imitated by all the other parts in turn, according to certain general principles to be hereafter explained. ”

“ A stretto may be merely for two voices, or all the voices of the fugue may take part in it in turn. Very frequently we find more than one stretto in the same fugue. In that case the interest of the music is not only maintained, but heightened by making each successive stretto closer than the preceding.
17. We sometimes find fugues in which a stretto is seen in the first exposition, that is to say, in which the answer enters before the completion of the subject, not infrequently immediately after its commencement. A fugue of this kind is called a Close Fugue. ”

“ If the accompaniment to a fugue is anything more than a mere filling up of the harmony—that is, if it has independent features of its own, as in the examples to §§ 441, 442, 444, it is very desirable that it should be well contrasted with the subject and counterpoint of the fugue itself.
448. It is seldom advisable to have more than one, or at most two, free instrumental parts in the accompaniment to a fugue, because not only is the difficulty of composing much increased, but each added part renders it less easy to preserve clearness. ”

“ It is quite possible, as Bach conclusively proves in this masterly fugue, to obtain variety by other means than incessant modulation.
398. A Triple Fugue, that is, a fugue with three subjects, is very much rarer than a fugue with two, and when we find one, it is seldom strict. The first requisite for such a composition is, that the three subjects must be written in triple counterpoint, as each will in turn have to do duty as a bass. It is also needful that all the subjects be well contrasted in character, as we have already seen that they should be in the case of a double fugue. ”

“ The rule to be found in nearly every work on fugue respecting tonal answer is, that if a subject leaps from tonic to dominant, either direct or through the third of the tonic, the answer must be tonal—that is to say, the tonic must be answered by the dominant, and the dominant by the tonic. ”

“ We are speaking here of vocal music; but the parts in an instrumental fugue are mostly treated pretty much as if they were voice parts. For the purposes of fugal answer, we group the voices in pairs, the higher pair being the treble and tenor, and the lower the alto and bass. If the student remembers the directions for transposing a given subject which are given in Counterpoint, he will be aware that a subject given in the treble must be transposed a fourth or fifth lower for the alto, an octave lower for the tenor, and an eleventh or twelfth lower for the bass. ”

“ The fugue on a choral affords an illustration of the general principle so often referred to in these volumes, that in proportion as the difficulty of the task increases, greater freedom is allowed to the composer. This has been amply shown in our examples. By the time that the student is so far advanced as to be able to attempt a composition of this class, he ought also to have acquired sufficient experience not to permit his liberty to degenerate into license. ”

“ A movement in ternary form can always be divided into three principal sections. In a piece other than a fugue (for instance, in the slow movement of a sonata, in which this form is frequently used) , the first section will be mostly in the key of the tonic, and will close either in that key, or in one of the most nearly related keys—probably the dominant if the movement be in a major key, and the relative major if it be in a minor key. The second part of such a movement generally consists of an episodical subject, but is invariably in a different key from the first part ”

“ It would have been very difficult (perhaps impossible for anyone except Bach, to whom nothing seems to have been impossible) to combine the choral with either of the themes he had selected for his fugue. He therefore wisely chose rather to write an effective composition than to attempt elaborate and difficult combinations, which, had he succeeded in effecting them, would probably have smelt strongly of the lamp. An over-display of technical cleverness is very likely to be dry. ”

“ In general, if a fugue subject begins with an upward leap of a perfect fifth, or a downward one of a perfect fourth, the first note will be the tonic of the key, and the second the dominant; if, on the other hand, it begins with an upward leap of a fourth, or a downward of a fifth, the first note will be the dominant and the second the tonic. There are occasional exceptions to this rule, as in the following example—
Mozart. ”

“ We can either take the melodies of the choral itself as the subjects of our fugue, or we can write a fugue on an entirely independent subject, introducing the choral in longer notes in one of the voices as a kind of canto fermo. Owing to the much greater freedom of its form, it is far easier to write a fugue on a choral than a canon. ”

“ In the final section of a fugue, which always begins with the last return of the original key, it is imperative that all the voices be engaged, though it is not necessary that all should have subject or answer. If, however, the fugue contains stretti, it is best that all the voices take part in the final stretto, which should also be the closest. ”

“ The student will do well not to overtax his strength by attempting feats too difficult for him. Unless he can write florid counterpoint fluently in at least five or six parts, he had better not try to compose an accompanied fugue at all.
449. Beyond these general hints, it is not possible for us to go. The farther we advance in this series of theoretical works, the more we are compelled to leave the student to his own resources. In our earlier volumes on Harmony and Counterpoint, it was possible, at all events in most cases, to give very definite rules as to what to do, and what not to do. ”

“ Occasionally, though very rarely in modern music, we find fugues without episodes. Such fugues were more frequently written, and more highly esteemed, by the old contrapuntists than they are at the present day. There is always danger of monotony if there are no episodes; even the first fugue of the 'Wohltemperirtes Clavier'—perhaps the finest fugue without episodes ever written—is from a purely musical point of view somewhat inferior in interest and charm to many others in the same collection. ”