Fucus

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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 ”

“ The chief figure here is the sequence, the theme of the upper voice being a modification of the subject of the fugue. In our last example from this fugue,
the same material is used as in our quotations (a) and (b) . In its general character this episode much resembles (a) ; but the figure taken from the codetta is now allotted to the two lower voices, and is seen in the alto by free inversion, and in the treble by augmentation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Sometimes only the first line of a choral, instead of the whole, is selected for fugal treatment. A well-known example of this is Bach's organ fugue in E flat, known in England as the 'St. Ann's Fugue.' This is a double fugue of a somewhat unusual form, in three movements. The first is a simple fugue in five parts, the theme of which we quoted at § 102 (c) , and which is the same as the first line of the hymn-tune, 'St. Ann's.' This movement ends with a full cadence in the tonic, introducing the second subject.
J. S. Bach. Organ Fugue in E flat, ('St. Ann's.')
&c. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Fulk saw a solitary figure outlined against the fire, thrusting a pole under the burning brushwood, and looking, with the jagged comb of its hood, like a sinister black devil.
Something moved in the mouth of the quarry, a patch of greyness that disassociated itself from the vague gloom of the brambles and furze. Fulk’s chin went up, and his eyes were on the alert. The figure shaped itself into that of a grey friar, and Fulk guessed it to be Father Merlin. ”

“ If a stretto is really an essential part of a fugue, then it is evident that more than half Bach's fugues must be badly written. The simple truth is, that it is not Bach's workmanship, but the rule that requires to be altered. Any rules regarding fugue, which will not fit the works of the greatest fugue-writer that the world has ever seen, carry their own condemnation on their face. ”

“ Fulk’s heart grew big in him, and his eyes shone. Here was the grim splendour of the sword out on a summer morning, and his nostrils quivered as he pushed forward into the stream.
He was a third of the way across when the knight of the red velvet cap kicked his heels into the flanks of his black horse and came splashing into the shallows. He of the red cap had the face of a great captain—haughty, shrewd, iron about the mouth, with blue eyes that looked straight and far, eyes that could strike like a sword. Fulk felt the man’s eyes on him as they splashed through the water towards each other ”

“ Listen to me, son Fulk. A priest comes by many truths, and by strange stories, and sometimes it is difficult for a man to believe his own ears and eyes.”
He bent over his staff and stared into Fulk’s face, his cowl slipping back a little, so that a gaunt chin poked out and Fulk saw the gleam of his eyes.
“Listen to strange tidings.”
Merlin’s voice fell to a whisper; and Fulk, looking into the dim face, felt as though some sly and persuasive hand were touching him. Isoult’s enigmatic words were in his ears, and his mistrust bristled. ”

“ One was a swineherd, the other a tiler, and being two to one, and Fulk no labourer in looks and dress, they showed a bullying valour, and fell upon him together. All Fulk’s fury took its outlet. He left both of them flat on the floor, helped himself to the wine and food, and was cheered by finding some rusty harness and a sword in an oak chest in the cellar. The horse in the stable would have carried the two boors, so Fulk had no qualms over saving him from such a fate. He saddled and bridled the beast, and rode on till the darkness made him call a halt. ”

“ 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. ”

“ And Merlin! The devil in Fulk was a silent devil, with hard eyes and a cruel mouth.
The group over the water was making away towards the beech woods. Fulk unchained the boat, sprang in, and laying his sword on one of the seats, took the pole and sent the boat surging over. The prow ran well up the bank, and stuck fast among the flags and sedges. He had scarcely set foot on the grass when two men dashed at him out of the thicket.
That sword of his looked a slim thing to tackle a brown bill and stout oak cudgel, but Fulk was as cool as the steel, though a devil’s temper raged in him. ”

“ Fulk Ferrers, the duke’s riding forester, lords it here. I am he. Come, let’s have no more scuffling—even with words.”
She sprang up suddenly.
“The riding forester! Messire Fulk Ferrers! Good, very good! Messire Fulk, I make you a curtsy. Maybe, you can tell the slot of a deer from the hoof-mark of a mule, even if you cannot tell a man from a woman. Messire Fulk, since you are gentle born, I will dare to wish you good-night.”
“You can wish me with the devil, madam, but it will be good-morrow in the White Lodge over yonder. Am I a fool?” ”

“ 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. ”

“ The general effect of a fugue is cumulative: a massing and piling up of voices that lead to a carefully designed conclusion which, in some of Bach's organ fugues, is positively overwhelming. A fugue may be called a mighty crescendo, like the sound of many waters. There is a popular conception, or rather misconception, that a fugue is a labored, dull or even "dry" form of composition, meant only as an exhibition of pedantic skill, and quite beyond the reach of ordinary musical appreciation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The exposition of this fugue extends to the first note of bar 11; it will be seen that each subject has then been heard in all the voices. An additional entry of all the subjects leads to the key of A minor, the last note of the first subject being sharpened in the tenor, to induce the modulation. The middle section of the fugue therefore commences at bar 13, with an episode only one bar in length. At bar 14 is the first group of middle entries, the three subjects appearing in A minor. ”

“ The student should now practise the invention of fugue subjects on the lines indicated in this chapter, bearing in mind the chief requirements which may be thus summarized:— (1) clearness of tonality; (2) distinctness of form; (3) moderate length and compass; (4) good striking melody; (5) contrapuntal character. He need not trouble himself much about originality; all the best melodic and harmonic combinations for fugue subjects have been so frequently employed that novelty in the subject itself is now hardly possible. ”

“ Fulk glimpsed something ahead down one of the woodland ways. His nostrils expanded; his lips were nothing but a thin, hard line.
He ran on between the great smooth boles of the beeches and under boughs that swept within a bow’s length of the ground, his feet making the dead leaves crackle, or going noiselessly over the patches of grass. He could see figures moving ahead of him, a grey shape, pausing ever and again, a white face looking back, a man half hidden by some tree-trunk and handling a bow. ”

“ Merlin sat himself down on the stone seat outside the cell, with his staff across his knees. His cowl was drawn, and Fulk could not see his face, but merely a patch of blackness where the face should be.
The Franciscan took his beads and muttered three prayers, and Fulk watched him, wondering what Merlin’s business might be, and how far he was to be trusted.
“Has the blood grown restless in you, Fulk Ferrers?”
His voice was smooth and persuasive.
“No more than in a hawk on a perch.”
“The hawk would fly, eh! Young blood runs hot. I have many things to say to you, Fulk of the Forest.” ”

“ Fulk scanned him from head to heel; his nostrils dilating a little, his mouth twitching with scorn. He bided there silently like a hound of the blood waiting to hear a strange cur snarl at him.
Guy the Stallion gave him a swaggering salute with his sword.
“Master Fulk Ferrers, greeting. I have twenty men at my back, and none of us love John of Gaunt and his creatures. I charge you to throw down that sword of yours, and stand up like a good lad.” ”

“ A fugue of this kind is very seldom strict as to the intervals of entry. Of the numerous specimens to be found in Bach's 190 Church Cantatas, there is not a single one which would not be more accurately described as a fugato with a choral. As these have nearly always an independent orchestral accompaniment, we prefer to select as an illustration the first twenty bars of a fugue on a choral taken from one of the motetts. The movement is too long to be quoted in full. ”

“ Note in bar 43 the transient modulation to the subdominant, to avoid the awkward progression of a tritone in the alto and bass.
343. For our last illustration we write a four-part fugue. We take the first half only of our subject, so as to make the piece more concise. A short subject is frequently advisable with a larger number of parts; with a longer subject there is often danger of the fugue becoming straggling and tedious. As we intend to combine the theme with itself in stretto as much as we can, we will write no countersubject (§ 176) . ”

“ Life was at high noon in her, with a glow of the eyes and face. Fulk took some of the dry bracken and spread it upon the stone bench, and the casual haughtiness of the deed was a part of the morning’s comedy.
“I tell you, Fulk of the Forest, it is good to live. Run through the names of all the wines—malmsey, ypocrasse, basturde, clove, pyment, muscabell. They are nothing to the wind and the sun on the heath.”
Her mood itself was a cup of Spanish wine, and Fulk took a draught of it into his blood. ”