Original Fugue in C major (Klavier) in Baroque Style R 744. Best Early Baroque Fugues(1/20) Fuga del nono tono(Late 1500s - 1612 Italy)By Giovanni Gabrieli. Best Early Baroque Fugues(2/20) "Ricercare dell'XI tono"(around 1600 Italy)By Antegnati. The Fugue - The Baroque Fugue. The fugue is a type of polyphonic composition or compositional technique based on a principal theme (subject) and melodic lines (counterpoint) that imitate the principal theme. The fugue is believed to have developed from the canon which appeared during the 13th century.
The canon is a type of composition wherein the parts or voices have the same melody, each beginning at a different time. The fugue also has its roots from the ensemble chansons of the 16th century as well as the ricercari of the 16th and 17th centuries. The fugue has several different elements: Exposition - The first section of the fugue wherein the subject is stated.Subject - The principal theme or main idea; the first statement of the subject is usually by a single voice.Answer - The second statement of the subject transposed to the dominant key; it may either be a real answer or a tonal answer. Composers use different techniques to vary the subject, such as: Fugues are introduced by preludes.
Fugue. The English term fugue originated in the 16th century and is derived from the French word fugue or the Italian fuga. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere ("to flee") and fugare ("to chase").[1] The adjectival form is fugal.[2] Variants include fughetta (literally, "a small fugue") and fugato (a passage in fugal style within another work that is not a fugue).[3] Musical outline[edit] A fugue begins with the exposition and is written according to certain predefined rules; in later portions the composer has more freedom, though a logical key structure is usually followed. Further entries of the subject will occur throughout the fugue, repeating the accompanying material at the same time.[13] The various entries may or may not be separated by episodes.
What follows is a chart displaying a fairly typical fugal outline, and an explanation of the processes involved in creating this structure. The exposition[edit] Example of a tonal answer in J.S. Listen.